Implement ban on crop burning, HC tells states

The Delhi High Court, on Friday, issued directions to the governments of neighbouring states of the Capital to implement the notifications under the Air Pollution Act to ban the burning of crop residue and directed them to submit weekly reports from October 1.

A bench of Justices Ravindra Bhat and Sunil Gaur also directed the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to issue orders to all the companies and plants including biomass plants, cement plants and power generation plants to discharge their corporate social responsibility by collecting crops residue from the fields of farmers by providing them with money as consideration for lifting the agricultural residue.

The directions came while the court was hearing a PIL initiated by itself in 2015 and a plea filed by another person to address the issue of poor air quality in the Capital.

The court, on Friday, passed the order on burning of crop residue as this practice starts from the month of October and continues up to January, during which the air quality of these states and especially of Delhi deteriorates.

While issuing the directions, the court observed that they cannot have another "gas chamber situation" in the Capital.

"Considering the facts on record and the submission of the parties, and given that the Kharif crop is to be harvested, there is strong likelihood that the burning of agricultural residue will be resorted to in this season as well.

"The effects of such practice can again be traumatic for most people and catastrophic for some," the bench said.

The bench also asked the Centre, the Delhi government and the local authorities to inform it about the latest position with regard to the steps taken for solid waste management and disposal.