New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said authorities should announce the procurement price for crop stubble well before farmers need to dispose of it.
It also said gram panchayats should receive a system to manage stubble, as it began hearing a case concerning air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The three-judge bench comprised Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. The hearing addressed both farm fires and pollution from sources within the region.
CJI’s weather remark
At the start of the proceedings, the Chief Justice referred to conditions in the capital, where strict anti-pollution measures were in place. “I hope you all are enjoying the weather in Delhi.”
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who assists the court as amicus curiae, said pollution levels remained close to the “severe” category. She told the bench that the polluted air had affected her voice.
Singh compared exposure to the region’s air with an individual “smoking 30 cigarettes every day”.
Farm fires worsen pollution
The court said rainfall had earlier brought pollution levels down. It expressed hope that farmers had stopped burning stubble as they prepared for the next sowing season. Singh told the bench that stubble-burning accounted for 14 per cent of Delhi’s pollution. She said farm fires added to an already serious problem.
“Delhi is already highly polluted,” she said.
She sought urgent intervention to tackle stubble-burning as well as local pollution sources, including the burning of waste. Her submissions placed both agricultural emissions and pollution within Delhi before the bench.
Private vehicles under scrutiny
The judges also questioned the contribution of urban emissions. They asked whether the focus on stubble-burning adequately addressed other major sources of pollution across the NCR. The bench questioned whether stubble alone caused the crisis or whether “the affluent class and their private vehicles” also contributed substantially.
“Stubble, we keep on talking about… You have provided equipment. Maybe some may still be hesitant about it. What about elite class people? Vehicles, high-end cars all operate…” the Supreme Court said.
In response, Singh told the court that transportation was the primary source of air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The exchange brought vehicle emissions into the discussion alongside measures to prevent farm fires and improve stubble management.
