On 3rd November 2022, Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena wrote a letter to Punjab’s chief minister Bhagwant Mann asking him to take urgent and substantive measures to control stubble burning in Punjab that is causing massive air pollution in the national capital. It is notable that thousands of acres of farmland in Punjab are set on fire to burn the stubble and the smoke directly contributes to the air pollution in Delhi. The air quality index in Delhi is already degraded from ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’, with an average AQI exceeding 500. People in Delhi are facing various health hazards because of this pollution.
Delhi LG VK Saxena writes to Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on stubble burning and pollution
— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2022
“Request you to undertake urgent and substantive measures to control Parali (stubble) burning in Punjab, that has converted the national capital once again into a gas chamber,” writes Delhi LG pic.twitter.com/apb8wP7cYl
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena also said that he has talked with Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in this regard and that he had called Punjab’s chief minister Bhagwant Mann also discuss the matter, but he could not attend the call because of some meetings scheduled. As the Punjab CM didn’t call back the LG the whole day, he was forced to write the letter, Saxena said.
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena said in his letter that stubble burning has converted the national capital into a gas chamber. He said in his letter, “It is with a sense of deep anguish that, I wish to draw your attention towards the pain and suffering that the people of Delhi are experiencing for no fault of theirs, and request you to undertake urgent and substantive measures to control Parali burning in Punjab, that has converted the National Capital once again into a gas chamber. It is public knowledge that Air Pollution in Delhi has reached extremely dangerous levels, hovering consistently in the ‘severe pls category due to smoke, 95% of which is originating from Parali burning in Punjab.”
LG Vinay Kumar Saxena further said in this letter, “I am constrained to draw your express attention towards the fact that contrary to expectations, incidents of Parali burning have increased by a whopping 19% in the period between October 24th, 2022 to November 02, 2022, as compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Authentic data on Parali burning presents an alarming picture. The figures for 2021 and 2022, for the same period, stand at 18066 and 21480 respectively. As on 02 November 2022, alone, out of the total 3825 cases of Parali burning in 06 States, i.e. Punjab, Haryana, UP, MP, and Rajasthan, Punjab singularly reported 3634 cases, while Delhi reported zero.”
LG VK Saxena also briefed the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann about the respiratory diseases and skin problems faced by the people in Delhi as a result of this air pollution. He said, “OPD visits and hospitalizations related to pulmonary discomfort/disorders has reportedly witnessed a manifold increase, children and the elderly are disproportionately affected, and every common citizen is facing incessant burning of eyes, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, and labored breathing amongst other respiratory discomforts. Renowned Doctors and Hospitals of Delhi are consistently flagging the situation as hazardous and dangerous, and are asking for schools to be closed, apart from advising people to remain indoors, not to go for morning walks, and refrain from outdoor physical activities. Due to severe air pollution and consequent restrictions, even the socio-economic activities are badly impacted.”
LG Saxena said that this is a violation of the citizen’s fundamental right to health and the right to life. He also drew Bhagwant Mann’s attention to the fact that this annual phenomenon has been a cause of deep concern, at all levels in the government and judiciary, and over the years, several measures have been put in place for mitigating the same. Delhi’s LG also reminded Bhagwant Mann that the Government of NCTD has also gone out of the way to promote and publicize a bio-decomposer for use by farmers, vide extensive and large-scale advertisements in newspapers and television by spending crores of rupees. It is notable that in Delhi and Punjab there is an Aam Aadmi Party government while in Haryana, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is leading a BJP-led coalition government.
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena mentioned that Haryana’s contribution to air pollution by stubble burning is negligible. He said, “I, on behalf of Delhi and its residents, once again sincerely and earnestly urge you to galvanize all available resources and machinery to make the farmers become willing partners in defeating this repetitive menace and help the Capital – indeed the entire NCR, breathe.”
The AAP government takes responsibility
Meanwhile, on 4th November 2022, Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi’s CM Arvind Kejriwal held a joint press conference along with Punjab’s chief minister Bhagwant Mann. In this press conference, he said that the AAP government takes responsibility for the pollution caused in Delhi by the stubble burning in Punjab. He said, “Farmers could not be blamed for the pollution-causing agricultural practice. By next year, we will reduce the farm fires in Punjab.”
#WATCH | “We will try for crop diversification… we will try to move our farmers from rice to other crops in Punjab,” say AAP Chief & Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal & Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann in a joint press conference over rising pollution in Delhi pic.twitter.com/MQcWbHwLuN
— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2022
He added, “Hopefully, by next year, we will take many harsh steps. We will align with farmers to reduce farm fires. We will try for crop diversification. We will try to move our farmers from rice to other crops in Punjab.”
प्रदूषण पर पंजाब के मुख्यमंत्री के साथ एक संयुक्त प्रेस वार्ता। https://t.co/0bLYYvVBul
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 4, 2022
Arvind Kejriwal read out a list of places in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan where the air quality index is ‘very poor’ or ‘severe’. He said, “This is a problem of the whole of north India and not just Delhi. We all have to together solve this problem because air is not static, it moves from one place to other and takes along pollutants. This is not the time of blame game or finger-pointing. Playing politics around such a sensitive topic will not give us any solution. There is stubble burning in Punjab but farmers are not responsible for that. They also need a solution. The day they get a solution, they will stop stubble burning. Because before reaching Delhi, the smoke first enters his own house and affects the children of the farmers. We have formed a government in Punjab and if stubble burning takes place in Punjab, we are responsible for it. Our government is responsible for it.”
Arvind Kejriwal said that it has been just six months since his party came to power in the border state and that six months is a small period to address several issues faced by the state. Bhagwant Mann informed about various steps taken by the state government to contain the problem which hardly contained anything except awareness and encouragement campaigns. Besides, he talked about bioenergy plants that are planning to take away the stubble from thousands of acres in Punjab and convert it to energy. One such plant is functional while other measures told by Bhagwant Mann include making CNG and electricity from stubble and they are not realized yet. Punjab CM assured that by November 2023, there will be a substantial reduction in the problem. Both Kejriwal and Mann said that the AAP government takes responsibility but other state governments and the union government should also take responsibility to address the problem as farmers cannot move to other crops unless they get assured minimum support price.
