NEW DELHI: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday questioned the Centre’s response to stubble burning in neighbouring Haryana, accusing the BJP-led government of singling out Punjab over Delhi’s air pollution. He alleged that the state was being blamed even before the paddy harvesting season had begun.Addressing a press conference, Mann argued that the movement of winds did not support claims that smoke from Punjab was directly responsible for Delhi’s deteriorating air quality. He said smoke would take at least three days to reach the national capital even if winds blew from the north-west at a speed of 100 kmph.“We have been saying that Punjab smoke will reach Delhi if the wind blows north to west with a speed of at least 100 kmph, and then also, it will take three days to reach. But the wind does not blow from north to west; it blows from east to west or west to east. Why don’t they tell anything to Haryana?” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.Pointing out that Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also cultivate paddy, Mann questioned why these states were not held equally responsible for pollution in Delhi. He also took a dig at reports that authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab had linked stubble burning in Indian Punjab to poor air quality in Lahore.“So, does the smoke from here reach there as well?” he asked.The chief minister also brought up the issue of paddy procurement, contrasting Punjab’s performance with that of Haryana. He said the state had already met its procurement target of 180 lakh metric tonnes and was expected to purchase around 200 lakh metric tonnes.“Paddy is grown there also. They keep giving us lessons to learn from Haryana on MSP, but what is the state of paddy procurement there whereas in Punjab we have met the procurement target. Rather, we will far exceed it by procuring 200 lakh metric tonnes against 180 lakh metric tonnes. We will procure every single grain of farmers,” Mann said.He alleged that Punjab was being unfairly targeted by BJP leaders, specifically referring to Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who he claimed had blamed the state even before harvesting started.
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Mann said stubble management required a coordinated approach involving all affected states rather than placing the responsibility solely on Punjab. He called on the Centre to bring together states across north India to work out a long-term solution.“Now, you will take 200 lakh metric tonne from us, there will be stubble. So, why does the Centre not find a solution?” he said.“The prime minister finds a solution to global problems; this issue is a problem of the entire North India. So, they should make these three to four states sit and find a solution,” he added.