New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Central government for rendering the Environmental Protection Act “toothless” in the context of rampant stubble burning in neighbouring states leading to extreme pollution in Delhi.
The top court said that the Centre was not taking any penal action for combating stubble-burning induced pollution in Delhi and only nominal fines were being collected.
“We will take the Union of India to task… it has not created any machinery. The Environmental Protection Act has become toothless. You have got rid of punishment and replaced it with a penalty by amending Section 15 and the procedure to be followed for imposing a penalty cannot be followed,” the Supreme Court said.
Section 15 of the Environmental Protection Act specifies penalties for violation of its provisions.
The court directed the government to amend the law and increase environmental compensation cess levied on violators.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who represented the Union government, told the court that showcause notices have been sent to the secretary (environment) and additional chief secretary (agriculture) of Punjab and Haryana.
Bhati assured the court that rules would be finalised within 10 days and the Act made “fully operational.”
“If these governments (Punjab and Haryana) and you (the Centre) were seriously ready to safeguard the environment, then everything would have been done before amendment to Section 15. This is all political, nothing else,” the court observed.
Delhi and NCR’s air quality was on Wednesday found to be “very poor”, with many areas falling in the “severe” category.
Punjab & Haryana Face Heat
Having slammed Punjab and Haryana during the last hearing for failing to take action against those violating the ban on stubble burning, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the efforts of the northern states to weed out farm fires as “mere eyewash”.
Noting that not even one prosecution had been made by Punjab, the court pulled up the chief secretary for providing a false statement to the state’s Advocate General.
“You must answer why you gave a false statement to the Advocate General of Punjab that a request has been made to Central Government for funds for tractors and diesel for farmers. We will issue contempt. We are not leaving you,” the court said.
The top court further pulled up Punjab for collecting nominal fines (Rs 2,500 each) from farmers resorting to stubble burning.
On hearing that the amount was fixed by Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the court said: “Giving licence to violate by paying such a nominal amount… That’s incredible. How much less amount? You are giving a signal to violators that nothing will be done against them. This has been for the past three years.”