Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday it was not smoke from his state that was causing pollution in Delhi and stressed on the need to find ways to dispose of paddy straw, which farmers in his state usually burn in October and November. His remarks come amid claims that stubble burning in Punjab was to be blamed for the pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
"You keep blaming Punjab for the pollution. This morning I couldn't come from Chandigarh by chopper because of the pollution in Delhi and Punjab had bright sunshine. So we are not giving any smoke from Punjab," Singh said at the 17th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. "I don't know where the smoke is coming from... it is coming from within this area,” Singh said.
"I have 13 million tonnes of rice which has just been harvested. I have got 26 million tonnes of paddy straw and unless we find a solution for that paddy straw what will the farmer do? They cannot survive and you cannot ask them to do something," he said.
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