Attorney General Tushar Mehta informs Bench that a new law may be enacted in the next few days proposing to have a permanent body to deal with stubble burning.
On Monday, the Supreme Court decided to “put on hold” its previous order to Dussehra appointing former Supreme Court Justice Justice Madan B. Lokur to a one-man committee to monitor / prevent stubble burning in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
The decision to stay his Oct. 16 order came shortly after Attorney General Tushar Mehta informed a court headed by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde that the Center had “proposed legislation to address the problem “that occurs annually and drowns the capital. .
Mehta said the new law could come out in the next few days that proposed having a permanent body to deal with stubble burning.
“Taking into account the statement made, we consider it appropriate that the measures adopted in the order of October 16 be kept in abeyance until further orders,” the court recorded in its order.
On October 16, the court asked Judge Lokur with the help of volunteer student forces deployed from the National Cadet Corps, the National Service Scheme, and Bharat Scouts and Guides to protect Delhi NCR from air pollution caused by burning stubble in neighboring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar. Pradesh this winter.
The court had said that student forces could patrol roads and fields in all three states and ensure that fires did not start in the fields.
He asked the Chief Secretaries of the three states to provide facilities for the committee and to provide student volunteers with adequate transportation to assist in their vigil.
He ordered existing mobile teams and state nodal officers to report back to the committee.
The court chose Judge Lokur for the task, as the retired judge had headed the Green Bench that was monitoring stubble burning for two full years prior to his retirement.
His name was recommended by lead attorney Vikas Singh, who appears to two children concerned about the onslaught of incoming waves of smog caused by rampant burning of stubble in all three states this winter.
Mr. Singh stated that the issue of stubble burning should be addressed without delay. Mr. Mehta said the government shares the concerns of its clients.
The Bench said the court would opt for the status quo until it studied the proposed law. A hearing has been scheduled for Thursday.
Last time, Singh had said that stubble fires were five times higher in Punjab, regardless of the remote sensing application used by the state.
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