The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking control over stubble burning. The petition sought directions to the Punjab and Haryana governments to take strict steps to control stubble burning. Dismissing the petition, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “This court has passed several orders on the issue of stubble burning and since the matter is still sub-judice, we do not want to allow various parties to file applications for intervention and direction in the matter.” The petition is therefore dismissed.
The petition was filed by environmental activist Vikrant Tongar. The petition states that the pollution caused by stubble burning in April-May not only affects the health of people living in Delhi-NCR but also harms the health of people in the states where stubble burning is done. The petition claims that children and the elderly are particularly affected by it. The petition also said that air pollution has become a national crisis, affecting the lives of millions of people living in the country. It is also violating the fundamental rights of the people under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The petition argued that ‘despite several directions issued earlier by this court, they are not being followed properly.’ Government agencies and stakeholders have failed in their duty to protect public health and the environment.
