NHRC: Stubble burning, failure of 4 state govts

New Delhi: After hearing the responses of the chief secretaries of Delhi and three neighbouring states on the

pollution issue, the NHRC on Saturday said farmers are burning stubble "under compulsion" and it is due to the "failure" of the four state governments

that stubble burning is happening.

Alarmed over the rise in pollution in Delhi-NCR, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had recently asked the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to appear before it on November 10 to discuss the matter.

The Commission, after considering the responses of the states concerned and the government of Delhi, and the deliberations thereon, is of the opinion that the "farmers are burning stubble under compulsion," the NHRC said in a statement on Saturday.

"The state governments have to provide harvest machines to get rid of those stubble, but they have failed to provide an adequate number of requisite machines and other measures; as a result, farmers are forced to burn the stubble, causing pollution.

"Therefore, none of the states can blame the farmers for stubble burning; instead, it is due to the failure of all four state Governments that the stubble burning is happening in the states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and UP, causing enormous pollutants in the air," it said.