Day after Supreme Court pat, Haryana CM claims credit for better stubble management

Pradeep Sharma

Chandigarh, November 22

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led government has scored some brownie points over the AAP government in Punjab in the backdrop of the Supreme Court order on stubble burning ahead of the parliamentary and Haryana Assembly elections scheduled to be held next year.

Punjab Major contributor to NCR mess

The stark difference between the number of farm fires in Haryana and Punjab has clearly shown which state is a major contributor to air pollution in Delhi and NCR. Manohar Lal Khattar, CM

With the apex court patting Haryana on the back for better management of stubble burning than Punjab, the Khattar government seems to have got a shot in the arm vis-a-vis the AAP governments in Punjab and Delhi.

Sources maintain that the SC observations will halt the AAP’s political march in Haryana where it is trying its level best to make inroads ahead of the parliamentary and Assembly elections, on the strength of its Delhi and Punjab models.

“Punjab’s inept handing of the stubble burning issue has exposed AAP’s governance model,” a senior functionary of the Khattar government said.

In fact, CM Manohar Lal Khattar was quick to claim credit for better management of stubble as compared to his Punjab counterpart. “While there were 31,932 stubble burning cases in Punjab between September 15 and November 16, the number was only 1,986 in Haryana,” he said.

He indicated that the large number of farm fires in Punjab were largely to blame for the high level of pollution in Delhi, which is also ruled by AAP, a claim vehemently denied by both Punjab and Delhi governments.

Sources said a status report presented by the Centre in the apex court appreciated Haryana’s efforts towards better management of stubble, which ultimately led to state getting favourable remarks from the court.

“The enforcement scenario in Haryana is far better with 100 per cent of the fields witnessing stubble burning being inspected and the environment compensation (EC) imposed in nearly 80 per cent cases as against about 20 per cent in Punjab,” the status report said.

“The steps taken by Haryana, including the payment of incentive for switching over to sustainable modes of stubble usage and the enforcement measures in cases of stubble burning, may be replicated in Punjab where the state-sponsored incentives and enforcement measures appear to be comparatively weak,” the status report added.