Can't go on: SC pulls up Punjab on stubble fires

“Stick must also follow the carrot”, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday, asking the Punjab government to take stringent steps against farmers who continue to light farm fires despite a restraining order by the top court, adding both the state and central governments should keep all politics out while ensuring enforcement of measures to stop stubble burning that has become a major source of air pollution in the national capital region every winter.

- Utkarsh Anand

“No section of society can say we will do whatever we want even at the cost of the health of people. It’s not acceptable. They can’t go on burning fires... Stick must also follow the carrot...The bottom line, according to me, is money. Somehow, they (farmers) are not showing the sensitivity that it’s (farm fires) affecting people and children so long as they are making some extra money,” a bench, led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, remarked as it continued monitoring the progress of its previous orders in the matter. The court remained emphatic that farmers trying to gain monetarily by stubble burning must be deprived of all incentives.

During the last hearing on November 10, the court told the Centre and the governments of states neighbouring the national capital to take steps and stop farm fires, stating that a “carrot and stick policy” approach — a balance between incentives and penalties — was necessary to stop stubble-burning incidents.

Fearful of the court’s censure, Punjab clamped down on the fires on November 9 and 10, but with the court shut for a week for Diwali, the number of fires peaked. They are now declining again because most of the harvest in the state is done. To be sure, ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Punjab has been aggressive in filing FIRs (though most do not name anyone) and fining farmers, although it isn’t clear how much of the money is actually collected.

The bench, also comprising justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, directed the Punjab government to recover the environmental cess of ₹2.62 crore imposed on farmers for lighting farm fires. While emphasising that farmers violating court orders should be identified and penalised suitably, it also acknowledged that depriving errant farmers of MSP for paddy or other crops could be a complex issue.