Can’t punish farmers if husk burnt, SC told

New Delhi : Husk burning in Punjab and Haryana is a “huge problem” causing pollution in and around Delhi but taking punitive action against the farmers was not a solution to resolve the issue, the Supreme Court was told today.
Arguing before a Bench of Justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta, senior advocate Harish Salve, assisting the court as amicus curiae in the air pollution matter, said farmers had a genuine problem and their plight should be understood.
He said the government should provide trains and trucks to remove husk so that it is not burnt by the farmers. “We understand the plight of farmers. Putting them in jail cannot be done. They have a genuine problem but at the same time, the city is choking due to this,” Salve said. During the hearing, the court said it would first deal with a report of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) relating to a comprehensive action plan for air pollution control with the objective to meet ambient air quality in the Delhi-NCR, including states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Bench said as per the report, two issues, including the scheduled implementation of BS VI emission standards, were required to be dealt with by it.