Govts have no right to stay in office if they let people die: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took the Centre and governments of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and UP to task, holding them responsible for life-threatening pollution in the national capital region and said governments and officials have no right to stay in office if they "let people die".
After castigating the Centre and the states for inaction and failure to contain pollution due to stubble burning, construction activities, garbage burning and vehicular emissions, the court asked states to provide small and marginal farmers financial support of Rs 100 per quintal to stop burning of crop residue.
"You sit in ivory towers and let people die. You are also human and you will also suffer one day. If you have to survive then you have to act. We are not at a stage where we can wait for another day," the bench said.
The court said the governments had known what was in the offing but failed to act. "If you cannot fulfil the aspirations of people then you do not have business to stay in office. We cannot tolerate it anymore and every single officer will be punished," the bench said.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta came out with a series of measures to immediately ameliorate what the court has called an "emergency situation" as well as spell out strict accountability for top bureaucrats of the states concerned.
The court's anguish brimmed over at the non-enforcement of its Monday order banning stubble burning. But it did not intend to punish farmers and asked the state governments to incentivise them. "To punish farmers is not a solution. But they should be provided basic and modern facilities which are not within their reach. In addition, we direct states to provide small and marginal farmers financial support of Rs 100 per quintal to stop burning paddy crop residue," it ordered.
Stating that farmers are the backbone of the country's economy, the bench directed the Centre and states to provide modern equipment under a comprehensive policy through intra-government coordination in three months. But before doing so, it handed out a tongue lashing to the Punjab chief secretary, telling him that he is unfit to remain in office even for a day for failing to implement the SC's year-old orders leading to the current stubble burning crisis. The SC's ire was more directed at Punjab compared to Haryana and UP.
"It is your responsibility to manage and collect the stubble. It cannot be left to the farmers. You know how many people are suffering from cancer, asthma and other diseases due to pollution. Try at war level to stop stubble burning and put your all machinery to prevent it," the bench said.