Justice Sudhir Agarwal, a member of the National Green Tribunal, has expressed his concern over the practice of blaming farm fires in Punjab for Delhi’s air pollution, calling it “grave injustice”. According to him, there is no scientific study to support the claim that crop residue burning in Punjab contributes to air pollution in Delhi. Justice Agarwal has been critical of the tendency to hold farmers responsible for the worsening air quality in the national capital, stating that it is a shared responsibility of all. He argues that Punjab is not even an immediate neighbor of Delhi, which shares its borders with Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Furthermore, Justice Agarwal points out that a specific wind speed and direction are needed for the supposedly polluted Punjab air to reach Delhi, which is not always the case.
Justice Sudhir Agarwal, a member of the National Green Tribunal (Via Sudhir Agarwal,/Twitter)
Justice Agarwal believes that imposing fines and jailing farmers for stubble burning is an unfair approach, as it distracts from the real issue of curbing air pollution in Delhi. He emphasizes the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach to address the problem, rather than singling out farmers for the blame. The NGT member also questions the scientific basis of the claim, asking whether there have been any studies conducted before alleging that crop residues in Punjab are responsible for Delhi’s air pollution.
The Delhi air, according to Justice Agarwal, has oily content, which is not consistent with the idea that crop residues, which are biodegradable in nature, can be responsible for the pollution. He stresses that holding farmers responsible for everything is beyond his comprehension and urges for a more nuanced approach to addressing the issue of air pollution.
