Prepare schemes to stop stubble burning: SC
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Centre to prepare a comprehensive national scheme, in consultation with States, within three months to wean small and marginal farmers away from stubble burning, which has been identified as a major source of air pollution choking the national capital.
- “Punishing poor farmers for burning stubble is not a solution,” Justice Arun Mishra, who led the Special Bench also comprising Justice Deepak Gupta, said.
- The Bench also ordered States to distribute crop residue management tools and machines to small and marginal farmers free of cost. The States need to use their own funds to finance the scheme, it said. The court would take a decision on the sharing of financial liability between the Centre and the States on a later date.
Delhi’s air quality gets better
- The air quality of Delhi improved to ‘poor’ category on Wednesday, mainly due to a shift in the direction of the wind.
- The air quality is expected to improve to ‘moderate’ or lower end of ‘poor’ category on Thursday, but may deteriorate slightly on Friday due to a change in wind direction, said government-run monitoring agency SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research). Isolated thundershower forecast over the next two days may also reduce pollution.
- The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city on Wednesday was 214 (poor).