30 cases of crop burning, says Haryana; Delhi govt threatens to move court

NEW DELHI: Except for some lesser number of incidents of crop burning, this year too Haryana has started reporting the stubble burning like every year. Haryana government confirmed nearly 30 cases of stubble burning reported

till date.

Meanwhile, Delhi government issued a statement that if the state governments do not take immediate action then the Delhi government will move a court to get direction on the matter. "We have to monitor the matter, last year nearly 3,300 cases of stubble burning were reported this year we have only 30 such reports. We have taken all the necessary measures to control the burning," S Narayanan member secretary of Haryana Pollution Control Board told the Millennium Post. He also said that the environment department along with the agricultural department is working to make sure to stop crop burning in the state.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government came down heavily on the neighboring states alleging no action was taken against crop burning. "In case effective steps to mitigate the menace of stubble burning are not initiated by the respective state governments, the Delhi government may be left with no other option but to knock the doors of appropriate courts of law to seek their intervention and seek directions for time-bound effective actions by the Centre and concerned state governments," said Imran Hussain, the environment minister of Delhi in a statement. He added that it has also been widely reported that farmers in neighboring states are finding it more convenient and cheaper to pay fines for stubble burning instead of measures needed for avoiding such burning. Media reports are also highlighting the NASA Images confirming the start of agricultural waste/ stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Delhi.

"I have been consistently writing to the Union Minister of Environment & Forest and Climate Change to convene high-level meetings with the Chief Ministers and Environment Ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan & Delhi in this regard. Despite this, the incidence of stubble burning is going on unabatedly. This is likely to further worsen the ambient air quality of the National Capital in the coming days/ weeks when the festive season gets underway and the atmosphere also gets cooler due to approaching winter season," said Hussain.