On 12th November 2022, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held four North Indian states responsible for the continued stubble burning that causes severe air pollution in northern India. NHRC heard the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh on 10th November 2022 after taking suo moto cognizance of unabated air pollution in Delhi-NCR. After considering the responses of the concerned States and the Government of NCT of Delhi, and the deliberations thereon, the NHRC opined that the farmers are compelled to burn the stubble.
A press release published by the NHRC stated, “The State Governments have to provide harvest machines to get rid of those stubbles 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.”
The Commission has ordered that the concerned Chief Secretaries attend the subsequent proceedings in the matter on November 18, 2022, either in person or via hybrid mode. They are also required to submit their answers or affidavits in advance, within four days, that positively address the issues raised by the Commission.
The Commission has raised different issues with different states and expects answers on those in the next hearing from the state representatives. Further, the Commission has requested reports on a number of common issues from the concerned states and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi within four weeks. The questions raised by NHRC include the status of assistance to farmers for in-situ management of crop residue using machines and other methods; preventing stubble burning; use of mobile and stationary anti-smog guns; dust management through water sprinklers; mechanical road sweeper machines; vehicular pollution; management of construction; and demolition.
Haryana has managed to reduce stubble burning to a large extent
It is notable that although the NHRC has held the four states responsible for the continued stubble burning, Haryana has taken significant steps to reduce the pollution caused by stubble burning and has succeeded in curbing the same to a remarkable extent.
Every year, the smoke produced by stubble burning by farmers in North India has been a major subject of concern due to the considerable health risks it poses. However, data shows that Haryana is working extensively to reduce stubble-burning incidents.
According to available data, Haryana has not only seen a considerable decline in the number of occurrences of stubble burning this year but has also been seeing a steady drop in similar incidents over the previous six years.
Haryana has reduced stubble-burning instances by more than 55% during the last six years. The total number of such accidents decreased from 15,686 in 2016 to 6,987 in 2021.