New Delhi, Sep 28 (TIWN) A PIL has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Punjab and Haryana governments to ban stubble burning, which usually takes place between September and December every year, against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The petitioners – law student Aman Banka and class 12 student Aditya Dubey, through advocate Nikhil Jain, contended that it is on record that stubble burning contributes almost 40 percent of air pollution in Delhi.  Citing the Harvard University study holding that air pollution may now be an important factor that aggravates a mild Covid infection into an acute one, the petitioners also referred to a study of the Louisiana State University, which found that increased air pollution can offer a direct pathway for airborne transmission of Covid-19.