Helpless against farm fires

We are one of the largest economies of the world, we are an emerging power, we want to be vishwaguru… but we can’t do anything about farm fires that continue to wreak havoc with the environment in north India, adversely affect the health of millions of people, hurt the economy, and bring a bad name to the country.

Even the harsh remarks by the Supreme Court have no effect on the system. The apex court today slammed the representatives of the governments of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh over the issue of stubble burning.

When Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari could present a proper road map on ways to curb the dangerous practice, the Bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta said, “We do not want to know your name. We do not want any lecture. What is the road map?”

The Punjab Chief Secretary fared little better. “We will suspend you from here…problem is all have forgotten the concept of welfare state,” Justice Mishra warned him.

Meanwhile politicians are busy settling their scores. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh blamed hid Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal of uttering “shameless lies.” The latter blames other northern states for the problems the national Capital faces. Union Minister Vijay Goel blames Kejriwal for being lackadaisical. The blame game continues.

Farm fires too continue unabated. In fact, they have shown an upward trend in Punjab, the official claims notwithstanding. “Between September 23 and November 5, Punjab has reported 37,935 incidents of farm fires, which was almost 28 per cent higher than stubble burning incidents in the corresponding period last year that stood at 27,224,” says The Indian Express (November 6).

Thankfully, Delhi’s air quality has improved but that is because of higher wind speed rather than any government action. Everything is, as they say in Hindi, Ram-bharose.