Gonda. Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has expressed concern regarding air pollution. He raised questions on the functioning of the administration and the government on the incidents of stubble burning and said that strict action is needed against the people and activities responsible for pollution. They allege that there are rules and regulations to ban stubble burning but they are not being implemented effectively.
Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, while talking to IANS, said that the pollution situation in the state and the country is becoming increasingly serious. It seems as if the people responsible for this have left everything to themselves. Strict steps should be taken against smoke emanating from factories, vehicles and brick kilns. No government is paying enough attention to the pollution caused by stubble burning. The pollution caused by stubble burning is 100 times more than the total pollution caused by Diwali firecrackers, brick kilns and industrial activities.
He said that the amount of smoke that comes out from burning stubble in one bigha field is more than the amount of smoke that a single vehicle would emit even in a whole year. Stubble is being burnt on a large scale in villages. When passing through rural areas in the evening, it seems as if there is fire all around. If the administration wants, it can find out in which field the stubble was burnt even after 15 to 20 days of burning.
The former MP also expressed concern over the damage caused to the soil by burning stubble. He said that stubble fire affects the upper layer of fertile soil of the field. This harms the fertility of the land. To deal with this problem, along with spreading awareness among the farmers, they should be provided with such agricultural equipment with the help of which the stubble can be mixed in the field itself.
He said that if needed, fields can also be monitored through drones, but the question is who is enforcing these rules? Even today, if the administration wants, it can identify the fields burning stubble, but there is no concern among the officials from small to high level regarding this serious problem.
He also raised questions regarding action against vehicles. He said that the way action is being taken to remove old vehicles, there is a possibility of an attempt to benefit the industrialists and increase the sales of new vehicles.
Brij Bhushan Singh expressed apprehension that incidents of stubble burning may increase in the coming days as there is a delay in harvesting of paddy. As the crop is harvested, farmers can start burning stubble. In such a situation, the administration should take effective steps from now on.