'People Are Dying...Won't Tolerate This,' Says Supreme Court As It Pulls Up Centre, State Govts On Smog

The Supreme Court slammed the leadership of all north Indian states for passing the buck over poor air quality and doing very little on the issue of severe smog. Coming down heavily on the politicians, the top court said that, “People are dying… more people will die but those at helm seem interested only in gimmicks. We will supervise this matter now. Crop stubble burning must stop immediately and all states must do everything to stop it." The top court in its blazing observation said that, ‘'Delhi is choking every year and we are not able to do anything. Every year this is happening and this continues for 10-15 days, this is not done in civilized countries. Right to life is most important.'’

“It is not the way we can live. "Centre should do.. state should do" cant go on. This is too much. No room is safe to live in this city, even in homes. We are losing precious years of our lives due to this,” the apex court added. “Situation is grim, what do you intend to do as Centre and as Delhi? What do you intend to do to reduce this pollution,” the top court observed.  

Meanwhile, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that the Narendra Modi government has already given Rs 1,100 crore to farmers. He asserted that money given by Centre did not reach the farmers. "Delhi government is asking why have we given 40,000 machines to a population of 22 lakh farmers, I want to say that we have given Rs 1,100 crores. Instead of spending Rs 1,500 crore on advertisements, the Delhi government should give this amount to farmers to address the issue of pollution," Javadekar said while addressing reporters in New Delhi on Monday.

However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has hit out at Javadekar saying that AAP government spent only Rs 40 crore as against Rs 1,500 crore claimed by BJP minister. Javadekar's statement comes amid bitter war of words between leaders of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. While the Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi has squarely blamed Punjab and Haryana for stubble burning, both states remain steadfast in their approach and said that they can’t do anything due to lukewarm response from the Centre. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has said that the Modi government has not released enough monetary support for farmers.