Join hands to check stubble burning, Delhi L-G tells northern states

New Delhi, September 26

Delhi L-G VK Saxena on Tuesday raised the issue of air pollution in the national capital caused by stubble burning in neighbouring states at the North Zonal Council (NZC) Meeting and urged them to work in tandem to address the issue, Raj Niwas officials said.

The discussions at the meeting held in Amritsar were dominated by the issue of pollution including stubble burning that chokes Delhi during winters, they said.

The L-G, who represented the national capital at the inter-state forum headed by the Union Home Minister, requested all neighbouring states to work in tandem to address the issue of stubble burning, they said.

“He brought out the fact that even after the issue being flagged and discussed in the last zonal council meeting at Jaipur in 2022, it remained unaddressed, especially on the part of Punjab,” officials said.

Saxena said that while Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which is not a part of NZC, had undertaken substantial efforts to address the menace, Delhi suffered “acute air pollution” due to the smoke emanating from Punjab despite his letter to the state Chief Minister on November 4, 2022, they said.