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See what you have done: NGT to states

After slamming the Delhi government, the bench questioned the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan governments for not clamping down on the burning of paddy straw, which has exacerbated the Capital’s pollution crisis.

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The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) Chairperson on Monday took strong exception to the inaction of the Delhi, Punjab and Haryana governments in taking preventive measures to control the Capital’s poor air quality.  

The NGT’s observations came even as air quality and visibility improved owing to a wind speed of 15 kmph. From an early morning peak of 1,600 micograms/metre cube (ug/m3), PM10 pollution more than halved at 500ug/m3 in Anand Vihar, Delhi’s most polluted spot. For the first time after the onset of smog, visibility crossed 1,000m at Palam and 1,800m at Safdarjung.

NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar came down hard on the Delhi government. “What preventive steps did you take on air pollution in the Capital? Why didn’t your authorities sprinkle water on roads earlier? Why can’t you use helicopters to create artificial rain to control the dust pollution? Are they only meant to carry your officials?” Justice Kumar asked.

The Bench also said that despite an “emergency” and continuous smog, Delhi government and authorities concerned from the neighbouring states were putting blame on each, instead of bothering about pollution’s impact on citizens.

After slamming the Delhi government, the bench questioned the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan governments for not clamping down on the burning of paddy straw, which has exacerbated the Capital’s pollution crisis.  

“What are you doing to control crop burning in your states? In Punjab, 70% of agricultural lands are burning. Don’t you owe some responsibility? You people don’t worry about people’s health. Children are not able to go out due to the smog. See, what have you done to Delhi,” the Bench said.

Every year, after harvesting the Kharif crops, farmers across Punjab and Haryana set paddy straw on fire to clear agricultural fields for sowing of Rabi crops

The tribunal also referred to the satellite images of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to point out that the straw burning was one of the major factors contributing to smog. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP are to submit status reports on straw burning before NGT on Tuesday.

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