Rajasthan, Punjab Govts Not Doing Enough To Check Stubble Burning: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Expressing serious concern over Delhi’s poor air quality over the past few days, forcing closure of primary schools, Union Minister of Earth Science Jitendra Singh cautioned that air pollution related stubble burning cases have risen by 160 per cent in Rajasthan and 20 per cent in Punjab.

This, he said, implies that the governments in the two states are not doing enough to check stubble burning and are, on the contrary, increasingly contributing to the deteriorating air quality in Delhi-NCR, according to a Ministry of Earth Science release on Sunday (6 November).

The minister, who is also Incharge of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ministry of Earth Sciences, said that on the other hand, states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have recorded progressive decline in the incidents of stubble fire burning.

He said such inferences indicate that either the governments in Rajasthan and Punjab are not serious about air quality or they have not properly utilised the funds which were provided by the Modi government to purchase machines for stubble management.