SC slams Centre for making environment protection law ‘toothless’

The Supreme Court criticized the government for not effectively implementing the environmental protection law, specifically the provision for penalties for stubble burning in the CAQM Act. The court pointed out that the necessary machinery to tackle air pollution was not created despite the enactment of the law. The government assured that regulations for penalties will be issued in 10 days and actions will be taken to enforce the law. However, the seriousness of the government’s actions was questioned by the court, which noted that over 1,000 cases of stubble burning have occurred in Punjab. The court summoned the state chief secretaries for an explanation on the lack of prosecution of violators.