New Delhi: The Centre Wednesday issued a gazette notification doubling the fines for stubble burning, a major cause of pollution in northwest India, particularly the Delhi-NCR. This comes two weeks after it was pulled up by the Supreme Court for rendering environmental laws “toothless”.
Under the new rules, the Centre increased the fines for stubble burning from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 for those with less than two acres in land holdings and from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for two to five acres of land.
Farmers who own over five acres of land will have to cough up Rs 30,000 if caught setting their fields on fire, the notification said—up from the earlier Rs 15,000. It further amended the adjudication process against environmental polluters, including the process of reporting complaints and of inquiry.
The notification for Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (Imposition, Collection and Utilisation of Environmental Compensation for Stubble Burning) Amendment Rules, 2024, said the new fines come into effect “immediately”, without a draft being placed in the public domain for consultation.
The development comes even as Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) has stayed in the ‘very poor’ category for the two consecutive weeks. On Wednesday, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that Delhi’s AQI was 352, marginally down from Tuesday’s 373.
On 23 October, the Supreme Court had reprimanded the Centre for its laxity in controlling the annual pollution rise in northwest India.
It noted that amendments to the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) of 1986 had replaced punishment for violation with penalties. Furthermore, the provisions under the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Act on penalties against stubble burning had been enacted without the requisite machinery to implement them.
The apex court also pointed out that it was the fundamental right of citizens to live in a clean and pollution-free environment and it was the duty of the central and state governments to ensure that this right is upheld. In its response, the Centre had assured the court that it would come up with a regulation on the penalties under the CAQM Act within 10 days.
Stubble fires down, but not enough
Every year between October and November, thick smoke from stubble fires is carried to Delhi with the winter winds, setting the stage for the Capital’s annual winter pollution season. This year, higher-than-normal October temperatures and high wind speeds have saved Delhi’s air from entering the ‘severe’ category.
The latest data on Research Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space, released by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute’s (IARI) Consortium Wednesday, said that between 15 September and 5 November, Punjab and Haryana recorded 4,755 and 857 farm fires, respectively.
When compared to previous data from the Union Environment Ministry, it indicates a decline in stubble fires in the two states. Last year, Punjab reported 36,663 stubble fires, down from 49,922 in 2022. Similarly, Haryana recorded 2,303 stubble fires in 2023, down from 3,661 in 2022.
Despite this downward trend, the SC said that there appeared to be a reluctance among officials in Punjab and Haryana to take action against farmers for indulging in stubble burning.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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