The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday slammed the Punjab government for its failure to tackle the matter of stubble burning, adding that it failed miserably in its duty which caused the air pollution. The bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra heard the case and the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana were present in the court. Justice Mishra warned of consequences for those violating rules and regulations. "Nobody will be spared if found violating rules and regulations," said Justice Mishra. He added that everyone knew that the stubble burning would happen this year too then why was the government not ready in advance. "Why were the machines not provided? It seems no steps were taken throughout the year," added Justice Mishra. The AG suggested that in Punjab there should be seven zones for stubble burning and each zone be designated a particular day rather than all the zones burning at the same time. "Can you not collect stubble at the Panchayat level. It is your failure this is happening," said the apexcourt. The SC had on Tuesday registered a fresh case in connection with the airpollution in Delhi-NCR. The court took up the case on its own, as the bench headed by Justice Mishra was left in anguish on the response of the statemachinery in combating air pollution, which resulted in a public health emergency in the national capital. The suo motu case was titled "alarmingrise in air pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas". The top court onMonday had passed a slew of directions in connection with air pollution while expressing its displeasure over the failure of the Centre and state machineryto deal with the problem. "You can postpone the Assembly, but peoplecannot be left to die," a bench headed by Justice Mishra had said whileseeking the presence of chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on those carrying outconstruction and demolition activities flouting a ban on such works. It alsoimposed a penalty of Rs 5,000 on people involved in burning waste. The courtmade it clear that if violations were to surface, the local administration andzonal officials would be held accountable.

The apex court also roped in SHOs of local police stationsto ensure that steps were taken to stop stubble burning. "It is a shockingstate of affairs...There cannot be a large scale exodus of people from Delhi.Delhi cannot be evacuated," the court had said.