Delhi L-G urges Punjab CM to take 'urgent and substantive' measures to check stubble burning

New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to take "urgent and substantive" measures to control stubble burning in the state that has converted the national capital "into a gas chamber".

In response, Mann accused Saxena of stopping the work of Delhi's elected government and said the Lieutenant Governor was politicising the issue. In a communication to Mann, Saxena said it was "baffling" that instead of addressing the issue at hand, "certain elements are indulging in unjustifiable blame games and excuses and trying to shirk responsibilities, even in the face of a serious crisis situation".

Saxena said, on behalf of Delhi and its residents, he was urging Mann to galvanise all available resources and machinery to make the farmers become willing partners in defeating the "repetitive menace".

"...request you to undertake urgent and substantive measures to control Parali burning in Punjab that has converted the National Capital once again into a gas chamber.

"It is public knowledge that air pollution in Delhi has reached extremely dangerous levels, hovering consistently in the 'severe plus' category due to smoke, 95 per cent of which is originating from Parali burning in Punjab," Saxena said in his letter.

The Lieutenant Governor cited data that said stubble burning had spiked 19 per cent between October 24 and November 2 from the corresponding period in 2021. He noted that the "authentic data" presented an alarming picture.

"... contrary to expectations, incidents of Parali burning have increased by a whopping 19 per cent in the period between October 24 to November 2 as compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Authentic data on Parali burning presents an alarming picture. The figures for 2021 and 2022, for the same period stand at 18,066 and 21,480, respectively," he said.

On November 2, of the total 3,825 cases of Parali burning in six states — Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — Punjab singularly reported 3,634 cases while Delhi reported zero, Saxena said in the letter.

"The resultant situation... has led to (a) health emergency in Delhi and the NCR, wherein OPD (out-patient department) visits and hospitalisations related to pulmonary discomfort/disorders has reportedly witnessed a manifold increase," Saxena noted.