The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh to appear before it on November 18 in connection with unabated air pollution in the Delhi-NCR.

The commission on November 10 said the farmers were burning stubble under compulsion and it was due to the failure of the four state governments that farm fires were happening. It said the state governments had to provide farmers with harvest machines to get rid of the stubble. 

“The governments have failed to provide an adequate number of machines and adopt other measures. Consequently, farmers are forced to burn stubble, leading to pollution,” it said.

The NHRC said none of the states could, therefore, blame the farmers for stubble burning. “Instead, it is due to the failure of all four state governments that the stubble-burning is happening in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and UP, causing enormous air pollution,” it added.

The commission recently heard the responses of the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with its suo moto cognizance of unabated air pollution in the Delhi- NCR region.