Reports have mentioned that, given the alarming levels of air pollution in and around Delhi, India’s supreme court has ordered the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan to take immediate measures to cease burning crop residue.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) can't be made to go through high air pollution caused by burning of crop residue year after year.
"There cannot be a political battle every time," the bench told the counsel representing the Punjab government, reports said.
Schools and other educational institutions have already been shut in the national capital region in view of the on-going issue of high air pollution.
The Supreme Court of India has also asked the Delhi government to ensure that municipal solid waste was not burnt in the open.
The court while hearing the matter of air pollution in the National Capital Region, raised issues like crop residue burning, vehicular pollution and burning of waste in the open.
Pollution levels in Delhi and its surrounding areas have been really high for the past five consecutive days, reports said, adding that a number of cities in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have also reported hazardous air quality.