Centre doubles penalty for stubble burning amid rising air pollution in Delhi-NCR

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): As the capital and National Capital Region struggle with increasing air pollution, the Centre announced on Thursday an increase in penalties for farmers engaging in stubble burning. The move is aimed at discouraging the farmers from resorting to burning farm residues in their farmland. As per the government notification, farmers with less than two acres of land will have to pay Rs 5,000, those with 2-5 acres will have to pay Rs 10,000, and those with more than five acres will have to cough up Rs 30,000 for burning stubble. The move to double the penalties by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change comes a day after the Supreme Court termed the Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986 and existing fines as 'toothless'.

The government has notified the new rules under the Act for filing complaints, holding an inquiry, and laying down the adjudication process against environmental pollution. The amended rules were notified under the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021, and will come into effect immediately. The revised penalty for stubble burning stands as follows: A farmer having an area of land of less than two acres will have to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 5000.

A farmer having an area of land of two acres or more but less than five acres will have to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 10,000. A farmer having an area of land of more than five acres will have to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 30,000. Those farmers violating the rules will have to pay the penalty to the respective State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee within thirty days of the issue of challan. The payment mode is, however, flexible; they can pay penalty via cash, demand draft or even in electronic mode. Meanwhile, the capital continues to choke under a 'very poor' quality air index. On November 7, the AQI index stood closer to 400 in many areas, including Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Jahangirpuri, Mundka, Rohini, Sonia Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur.