Chandigarh, November 13 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday asked his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal what steps he had taken to end stubble-burning by farmers in areas near the national capital as air pollution peaked to alarming levels.
Kejriwal last week had sought a meeting with his counterparts from Haryana and Punjab to discuss ways to manage the worsening air pollution in Delhi and the neighbouring states.
While Khattar said he was open to meeting Kejriwal “anytime anywhere” to find a solution to the issue, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh last week said the situation warranted the Centre’s intervention as it had inter-state implications.
The practice of burning of crop residue by farmers of the two states has been blamed for the toxic smog enveloping the region during the winter season every year.
In a letter to Kejriwal, Khattar said some 40,000 families cultivated around 40,000 hectares in Delhi. “What steps have been taken to keep them from stubble-burning?”