NHRC summons chief secretaries of Delhi- NCR state governments, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms

NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission has summoned the chief secretaries of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab to appear before it on November 18, holding them accountable for stubble burning in the National Capital Region.

Observing that farmers have been resorting to stubble burning “under compulsion”, the NHRC said that it is due to the “failure” of the four state governments that it is happening, resulting in the poor quality of air in the region.

NHRC, after considering the responses of the states concerned and the government of Delhi, and the deliberations thereon, is of the opinion that the “farmers are burning stubble under compulsion”, the NHRC said in a statement on Saturday.

“The state governments have to provide harvest machines to get rid of those stubble, but they have failed to provide an adequate number of requisite machines and other measures; as a result, farmers are forced to burn the stubble, causing pollution. Therefore, none of the states can blame the farmers for stubble burning. Instead, it is due to the failure of all four state governments that the stubble burning is happening in the states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and UP, causing enormous pollutants in the air,” it added.

NHRC also sought the states’ response or affidavits “within four days positively” for them to be taken up during the November 18 deliberations.