Context: Recently, Supreme Court has criticised the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for its inability to prosecute violators of stubble-burning laws, despite having the authority to impose severe penalties. 

• This issue has drawn public attention due to its direct impact on air quality and public health in the NCR.

Key Observations made by the Supreme Court

• Need for Criminal Prosecution: The court emphasized that without criminal prosecution of farmers and public servants involved in stubble-burning, the issue will persist. It noted that the CAQM has not registered a single case of violation, undermining the effectiveness of its orders.

• Failure of CAQM: The Supreme Court criticized the CAQM for its inaction and lack of compliance with its own orders from June 2021 and April 2024. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the CAQM's focus on holding meetings rather than taking concrete action against violators.

• Questioning CAQM's Monitoring: The court questioned whether the CAQM had two experts on air pollution as part of its panel, indicating concerns about its capacity to tackle the issue effectively.

• Call for Action Reports: The court demanded action-taken reports from Punjab and Haryana within one week, indicating a serious approach to addressing the matter.

• Penal Actions and Accountability: The court pointed out that there have been no prosecutions under the CAQM Act despite the severe penalties outlined, calling for accountability for officials who have failed to enforce the law.

• Response to Punjab's Arguments: Punjab's justification for delaying penal action—citing the need for alternative incentives for farmers—was met with skepticism by the court, which emphasized that such political considerations should not interfere with legal responsibilities.

What is Stubble Burning?

• Stubble burning is a method of removing paddy crop residues from the field to sow wheat.

• This removal generally occurs from the last week of September to November.

• It is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble, left after the harvesting of grains, like paddy, wheat, etc.

• Consequences

• The process of burning farm residue is one of the major causes of air pollution in parts of north India, deteriorating the air quality.

• Along with vehicular emissions, it affects the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital and NCR.

• Paddy stubble burning is practised mainly in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana, and UP to clear the fields for rabi crop sowing.

• The paddy crop is harvested between the first and last weeks of October in Punjab and Haryana.

• Then, farmers sow the wheat crop from the first week of November until the middle of December.

• The major reason behind the stubble burning is the short time available between rice harvesting and sowing of wheat as delay in sowing wheat affects the wheat crop.

• Impact

• Pollution: Stubble burning emits toxic pollutants in the atmosphere containing harmful gases like Carbon Monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC).

• Soil fertility: Soil becomes less fertile and its nutrients are destroyed when the husk is burned on the ground

• Heat penetration: Stubble burning generates heat that penetrates into the soil, causing an increase in erosion, loss of useful microbes and moisture.

Solutions to Stubble Burning

• Solutions to stubble burning include readily available and affordable super seeder machines that pluck out the crop residue and turn it into manure, incentivising sale of fodder from paddy harvest and flexible sowing dates for paddy as also paddy varieties with shorter cycles for harvesting.

Important Artificial Machines

• Happy Seeder(used for sowing of crop in standing stubble)

• Rotavator (used for land preparation and incorporation of crop stubble in the soil)

• Zero till seed drill (used for land preparations directly sowing of seeds in the previous crop stubble)

• Baler (used for collection of straw and making bales of the paddy stubble)

• Paddy Straw Chopper (cutting of paddy stubble for easily mixing with the soil)

• Reaper Binder (used for harvesting paddy stubble and making into bundles)

Role of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

• CAQM is a statutory body.

• It is established under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas, Act 2021.

• Its main task is to manage air quality in Delhi and its surrounding areas, has been working to implement stricter measures each year to curb pollution in the national capital.

• Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a framework designed to combat air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.

• It was introduced as an emergency response mechanism, and its implementation is triggered when the AQI reaches “poor” levels.

• The Air Quality Index (AQI) is issued by government agencies to gauge air pollution levels and communicate risks to the public.

• It indicates how air pollution can affect health, with higher AQI values indicating more severe health concerns.

• The AQI is calculated based on air pollutant concentrations over a specific period, and the results are categorised into ranges with corresponding health advisories.

• According to the AQI scale, the air quality check between

• 0 and 50 is “Good”

• 51 and 100 “Satisfactory”

• 101 and 200 “Moderate”

• 201 and 300 “Poor”

• 301 and 400 “Very Poor”

• 401 and 450 “Severe”

• Over 450 as “Severe +”.