Supreme Court Seeks 24/7 Monitoring Of Stubble Burning, Says State Officials Cannot Help Farmers Avoid Satellite Detection

The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 28) emphasized the need for a mechanism to monitor instances of stubble burning throughout the day, emphasising that the current satellite monitoring for only a few hours of the day is not sufficient.“What we propose to do is - we propose to hear exhaustively all the parties. Number one, that it is because of sowing dust is done belatedly, all these issues are happening. So we want to go to the root of the matter and issue directions. So something has to be done because every year this problem can't arise. So we want to issue directions in that behalf. And we want a machinery to be in place that 24/7, we must get data of stubble burning. For all these years now, this is a problem that everybody knows, everybody is smart to understand this, that data is not captured after 1:30. So this final solution has to be founded in December and January”, Justice Abhay Oka said, adding that the Court will address these issues in detail in January.A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih also directed the states to ensure that farmers do not take advantage of lack of full-day satellite monitoring of stubble burning. The Court took note of an India Today report alleging that Punjab state officials instructed farmers to burn stubble after 4:00 p.m. to avoid satellite detection.On November 18, the Court directed the Union Government to procure real-time data on farm fires from stationary satellites, such as those operated by South Korea, as opposed to NASA's polar-orbiting satellites that provide limited snapshots of a particular time period only.“Our attention is invited to an article appearing in India Today of 27th November 2024 which records that a land records officer and others admitted that they are advising the farmers to burn the stubble after 4:00 p.m. to avoid satellite detection. We are not on the correctness of this news item but if it is correct, it is very serious. The state officials cannot permit any farmer to take advantage of the fact that at present activities are being detected which take place during few hours of the day. The governments should immediately issue instructions to all officers not to indulge in any such activities”, the Court held.Stubble Burning: Data Discrepancies and Satellite MonitoringJustice Oka questioned both states on the number of crop-burning incidents in recent days.ASG Bhati said that there have been nominal instance of stubble burning as per CAQM. For Punjab, the cases recorded between November 22 and November 27 varied from 147 to 31 daily and for Haryana, the cases ranged from 53 to 15 daily during the same period, she said. However, the reliability of this data was questioned, considering the fact that satellite monitoring doesn't happen throughout the day and allegations that state officials were advising farmers to burn stubble after 4 PM to avoid detection.Bhati clarified that ISRO was testing a protocol for burnt-area assessment during this season. She noted that a failed ISRO satellite launch had delayed improvements in monitoring. Despite this, she assured the Court that ISRO will provide solutions for monitoring of stubble burning.Physical Reopening of SchoolsAdditional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed the Court that schools in Delhi are operating with an option for students and parents to choose between physical attendance and hybrid learning, as per CAQM direction. The Court on Monday had directed the CAQM to take a call on this aspect.Mitigation Measures for Affected CommunitiesThe Court noted that there was non-compliance by NCR states of its September 25 direction to utilize labour cess funds to provide subsistence allowances to construction workers affected by activity bans under GRAP Stage IV. “We direct compliance to be made with the same direction at the earliest and in any case on or before Monday”, the Court directed.The Court also directed the CAQM to issue necessary directions under Section 12(1) of the CAQM Act consisting of mitigating measures as suggested by the Court on Monday to ensure that economically weaker sections, daily wage earners, and labourers do not suffer.BackgroundOn November 18, the Court ordered that GRAP Stage IV restrictions must remain in place even if the Air Quality Index (AQI) improves below 450. The Court criticized the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for delaying preventive measures.The Court directed all NCR states to establish teams for strict monitoring of GRAP Stage IV actions. It also ordered the creation of grievance redressal mechanisms to report violations of GRAP, with complaints to be addressed promptly.Enforcement of Truck Ban and Vehicular RestrictionsA major issue has been the implementation of GRAP restrictions on vehicular entry into Delhi. Under Stage IV, entry of trucks and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) not engaged in essential services is prohibited. On November 22, the Court expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of ...

Supreme Court Seeks 24/7 Monitoring Of Stubble Burning, Says State Officials Cannot Help Farmers Avoid Satellite Detection

Amisha Shrivastava

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