Supreme Court criticizes Punjab, Haryana governments over stubble burning

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the ongoing issue of stubble burning in Delhi-NCR, reprimanding the Punjab and Haryana governments for their lack of action. The court said that authorities were merely issuing show cause notices without taking substantial steps to curb the practice.

“You are issuing show cause notices only for stubble burning. This reflects your attitude,” the court said. The bench accused both governments of failing to act according to the law and making false statements in court. “We will issue a defamation notice unless you provide the facts,” the justices warned.

The apex court criticized the lack of concrete enforcement measures, pointing out that though FIRs were lodged against 1,080 violators, fines had been collected from only 473 offenders.

“You are letting more than 600 violators go. This has been happening for the last three years, signaling that nothing will be done against them,” the court told Punjab’s chief secretary.

The court urged both governments to demonstrate genuine interest in implementing the law, stating that there should be at least one clear case of action taken.