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The national capital seems to be choking not just on its own air, but that of its neighbouring states too. Yesterday the Solicitor-General asked the Supreme Court for more time to find an

environmentally safe substitute for pet coke and furnace oil for industries in the National Capital Region (NCR). On the same day, Haryana released a study saying that stubble burning in

paddy fields in 2016 was the highest since 2013. The area burned saw a jump of 24.1 per cent jump in 2016 as compared to 2015. The Supreme Court dispelled Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar’s

doubts about the air pollution related mortality rate in the National Capital Region yesterday. “3,000 deaths in 365 days. That means eight deaths a day. That answers your doubts,” the Bench

led by Justice Madan B Lokur told Kumar. The high content of sulphur in pet coke and oil furnace makes it one of the major sources of pollution. The Bench was responding to a submission by

the Centre, seeking eight weeks’ time to find a less polluting substitute to pet-coke and furnace oil in industries in the National Capital Region. “It is not that we are siding with the

industries, but we need more time to find a substitute for pet-coke and furnace oil,” Kumar said. However, lawyers for the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) argued that natural

gas or electricity could be used as substitutes. Meanwhile, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) conducted a study looking into the area of stubble burning since 2013. The study

found that stubble burning was taken up in 202.3 thousand hectares in 2016, 163 thousand hectares in 2015, 168.9 thousand hectares in 2014 and 208.3 thousand hectares in 2013.  It also

found that the highest area of stubble burning was in Ambala, Fatehabad, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Sirsa, Sonipat and Yamunanagar. “The figures are a cause for concern

because it happened despite our intense campaign and increased surveillance against stubble burning,” said S Narayanan, secretary, HSPCB. Whether fumes from industries in NCR or smoke from

agricultural fields in Haryana, the residents of NCR are the ones bearing its brunt. Last year in October, stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab had covered north India under a thick layer

of smoke.