SC slams Centre for making environment protection law 'toothless'

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed Centre for making the environment protection law toothless. The court noted that the provision under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act of 2021 (CAQM Act) which deals with penalty for stubble burning was not implemented.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanulllah and Augustine George Masih said the CAQM Act was enacted without creating the required machinery to tackle air pollution.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Centre, said section 15 of the CAQM Act, which deals with penalty for stubble burning, will be implemented effectively as regulations for it will be issued in 10 days. An adjudicating officer will be appointed, and all necessary actions will be taken to enforce the law effectively, 'she said.

Bhati also noted that the CAQM had issued notices to senior officials in Punjab and Haryana, seeking explanations for their inaction. In response, the bench questioned the seriousness of these notices, stating, "Please tell your CAQM chairperson not to bail out these officials. We know what is happening on the ground."

Bhati pointed out that over 1,000 cases of stubble burning have taken place in several districts of Punjab, like Amritsar, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur, and Taran Taran. On October 16, the top court slammed the Punjab and Haryana governments over the non-prosecution of violators. They summoned the state chief secretaries to appear before it on October 23 for an explanation.