Delhi Government Slams Centre, Neighbouring States Over Stubble Burning, Calls Their Inaction “Criminal”

New Delhi: Expressing apprehension of widespread stubble burning across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, Delhi’s AAP government on Friday flayed the Centre and the neighbouring state governments for not tackling the issues. Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain, releasing photographs of stubble burning across the Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway, said stubble burning may be widespread in the country side of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

This situation leads to reasonable apprehension that Delhi may witness another episode of worsening ambient air quality in the coming weeks and months, Mr. Hussain said in Twitter.

Also Read: Air Pollution: SDMC Asks State-Run Construction Company To Stop Construction Activities At Pragati Maidan

Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the Central and state governments’ inaction as “criminal”.

We have been pursuing with the Centre, Haryana and Punjab governments, yet no concrete action has been taken. Farmers again helpless. The entire region including Delhi will again become gas chamber. People will again face difficulty in breathing. This is criminal, tweeted Mr. Kejriwal.

Also Read: Delhi Air Pollution: Emergency Plan To Kick In From Monday

Mr. Hussain urged the Centre and the neighbouring state governments to wake up and take action to prevent north India from air pollution.

It shows that Centre and governments of these states have not seriously taken up the issue of preventing stubble burning despite repeated requests from Delhi government. Such an unpleasant situation was preventable and if the Centre and these states wake up even now, northern India can still be saved from disastrous consequences of air pollution in coming days, added Mr. Hussain.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.