SC clears the air: Stop blaming the farmer

ON National Pollution Control Day (December 2), as the country reflects on its deepening air-quality crisis, it is vital to consider the plight of those generally blamed: the farmers. The Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday rejected the notion that farmers are the primary culprits behind Delhi’s pollution and warned against turning stubble burning into a political ego battle. The CJI’s question — why Delhi had blue skies during the Covid lockdown despite stubble burning — reinforces that the real drivers of pollution lie elsewhere. When traffic vanished, construction halted and industries slowed, the skies cleared. The farmer did not change his practices; the rest of society did.