News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 23rd October 2024
The Supreme Court criticized the Center on Wednesday for making the Environmental Protection Act “toothless” through changes, citing the widespread stubble burning in neighboring states that causes pollution in Delhi. The Center’s Additional Solicitor General (ASG), Aishwarya Bhati, promised the court that the Act will be “fully operational” and that rules would be finalized in ten days.
“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.
The ASG said showcause notices have been to the secretary (environment) and additional chief secretary (agriculture) of both Punjab and Haryana. “Within 10 days, Section 15 will be fully operationalised,” the ASG said. “If these governments and you (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 said.
The national capital’s air quality was rated as “very poor” on Wednesday, with multiple locations falling into the “severe” category. Burning crop residue in Punjab and Haryana at the start of winter is said to be a significant cause of Delhi’s increased pollution levels.
The Supreme Court viewed the chief secretaries of Punjab and Haryana, who were there, as “mere eyewash” and rejected their attempts to put out agricultural fires. The top court chastised Punjab and Haryana during the most recent session for not prosecuting individuals who disobeyed the stubble burning prohibition.
“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. To this, advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Punjab, said, “We will be taking stringent action as we proceed forward.”
