The air quality in Delhi was recorded to be in the ‘severe’ range since Friday. For the first time in the past 3-4 days, the air quality on Tuesday was recorded as 'very poor. 
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The air quality in Delhi was recorded to be in the ‘severe’ range since Friday. For the first time in the past 3-4 days, the air quality on Tuesday was recorded as 'very poor. Delhi AQI: Following alarmingly high pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Punjab government to stop stubble burning. It said that there can't be a political battle all the time. “We want it (stubble burning) stopped. We don't know how you do it, it’s your job. But it must be stopped. Something has to be done immediately,” the apex court told the Punjab government.
"I happened to travel through Punjab over the weekend and widespread fires on both sides of the road proper. Where is the reduction… suddenly you have sought to shift the blame on other states. It’s obvious why… But this can’t be a political battle all the time,” Justice S K Kaul said on Tuesday.
The court directed Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to stop stubble burning "forthwith", making chief secretaries and director general of police concerned responsible for overseeing the implementation of the court order.
The court also slammed the central and the state governments for playing a "blame game" over the Delhi air pollution issue as the air quality in the national capital and the neighboring states continues to worsen.
On Tuesday, Delhi's air quality was recorded as 'very poor' from 'severe' category last few days. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that the city's overall air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 394 at 9 am. But some parts of Delhi still recorded 'severe' AQI. These were Okhla (412), Patparganj (404), Anand Vihar (882), at 9 am.
In addition, the apex court directed all states and Union Territories to comply with its orders regarding the firecracker ban during Diwali and other times of the year.
On November 6, Punjab reported over 2,000 farm fires despite severe air quality indices in Delhi and neighbouring states. The total number of such cases till Monday were 19,463 in Punjab alone, according to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.
On Monday, Punjab minister Harpal Singh Cheema blamed BJP-ruled states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for most stubble-burning incidents, saying such incidents were declining in Punjab.
On Saturday, Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal slammed the Punjab government over the stubble-burning incidents in the state.
In his post on X, Dalal shared data of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana over the last three days.
"We have demanded water from (Arvind) Kejriwal ji and Bhagwant Mann ji, not smoke of paddy stubble,” Mr. Dalal wrote in Hindi.
According to the data shared by the Haryana agriculture and farmers' welfare minister, Punjab witnessed 1,921, 1,668 and 1,551 farm fire incidents on November 1, 2 and 3 while stubble burning incidents in Haryana were 99, 48 and 28 on the three days.
Reacting to Dalal's statement, the AAP accused him of "spreading lies".
"Twenty out of the 52 most polluted districts in the country are in Haryana and even then the Khattar government is playing politics and blaming Punjab," Punjab AAP unit spokesperson Neel Garg said.
The Punjab government provided machinery to farmers to check stubble-burning incidents, he said.
"And what did the Khattar government do... only politics," he said attacking the BJP-led government in the state.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the major reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.
Several parts of Haryana on Friday reported air quality indices in the 'severe' category while it was 'poor' in parts of neighbouring Punjab.
Punjab reported a total of 12,813 stubble-burning incidents till Friday, according to Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.
Also read: 'Has it ever succeeded?': Supreme Court calls odd-even scheme 'optics' as Delhi's air gets noxious
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