SC: Blaming farmers for smog misleading, demands accountability from Central govt
New Delhi: In a sharp intervention during a hearing on Delhi-NCR’s deteriorating air quality, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Centre and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) over the continuing failure to improve pollution levels despite years of action plans and emergency measures. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, stressed that the narrative blaming farmers for the National Capital’s hazardous smog has become “misleading and counterproductive.”
The court noted that stubble burning was prevalent even during the COVID-19 lockdowns, a period when Delhi’s skies were remarkably clear. This, the bench said, proves that crop-residue fires cannot be singled out as the primary cause of the region’s annual pollution crisis. “Farmers are hardly represented in these proceedings. It is incorrect to make them the face of the problem,” the CJI observed. The judges emphasised that the issue must not be turned into a political contest or an “ego battle,” and added that farmers must be assisted with machinery and sensitisation rather than vilified.
The bench directed the Union government to submit, within a week, a comprehensive status report outlining what concrete impact its action plans have produced so far. “If the plan has failed to deliver, why hasn’t it been reviewed? What are the measurable outcomes of each step you have taken?” the CJI asked, underscoring the need for accountability.
Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said that detailed reports from Punjab, Haryana, the Central Pollution Control Board and other agencies would be filed. She acknowledged that the goal of “zero stubble burning” had not been met but maintained that it is only one seasonal factor. Studies by IITs from 2016 and 2023, she said, continue to show significant contributions from vehicular emissions and industrial dust. Construction activity, Justice Bagchi added, is a year-round problem and its regulation needs far stronger enforcement.
The court also sought the qualifications and expertise of CAQM members to evaluate whether the body has the technical strength needed to handle such a complex issue.
Lawyers appearing in the matter pointed to unchecked roadside parking, rising vehicle density and lax implementation of construction bans. Citing past interventions, such as the transition to CNG buses in the 1990s under Justice Kuldeep Singh, counsels argued that strong, enforceable, short-term measures are urgently required to prevent Delhi’s winter from turning into an annual health emergency.
Delhi-NCR’s winter air stayed ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ through October–November despite farm fires being at a multi-year low.
A CSE analysis shows traffic-linked emissions of PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide forming a daily “toxic cocktail.” CO exceeded norms on over 30 of 59 days at 22 stations, with Dwarka Sector 8, Jahangirpuri and North Campus recording the most breaches.
Hotspots have multiplied since 2018, with Jahangirpuri (119 µg/m³) the worst, followed by Bawana and Wazirpur. Bahadurgarh saw a 10-day smog episode, reflecting NCR’s shared airshed.
Farm fires contributed generally under 5 per cent. PM2.5 averages showed no real improvement, rising to 104.7 µg/m³ in 2024. CSE calls for major reforms in transport, fuels and waste management.
