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663 Punjab villages identified as stubble-burning hotspots

By, Jalandhar
Sep 22, 2024 10:32 PM IST

Farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are seen as a major contributor to pollution in the region, with the national capital and its surrounding areas bearing the major brunt every year

With the paddy harvesting season set to formally kickstart on October 1, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has identified eight districts and 663 villages in the state as stubble-burning hotspots. These districts include Sangrur, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Moga, Barnala, Mansa, Tarn Taran and Faridkot, which recorded 23,410 cases of stubble burning last year, 64% of the 36,663 cases from September 15 to November 30.

8,000 employees to keep an eye on farm fires; state saw 36,663 such cases last year. (HT File)
8,000 employees to keep an eye on farm fires; state saw 36,663 such cases last year. (HT File)

Farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are seen as a major contributor to pollution in the region, with the national capital and its surrounding areas bearing the major brunt every year.

The 663 villages, most of which are situated in these eight districts only, have been identified on the basis of the historical date of straw burning. These villages have seen their over 75% area under farm fires in the last three years.

The PPCB has already submitted a detailed action plan with the National Green Tribunal and the commission of air quality management (CAQM) to curb farm fire incidents in the state in the coming three months. Nearly 31.54 lakh hectares of area is under paddy cultivation in Punjab. The state is expecting nearly 19.52 million tonnes of paddy straw this time which was 19.55 MT last year.

The state recorded a significant reduction of 26.55% in stubble burning cases in 2023 than 2022 when it reported 49,992 farm fire cases. The cases dropped by 29.84% in 2022 as compared to 2021 when 71,159 such cases were recorded. In 2020, Punjab had recorded 76,929 cases of stubble fires.

PPCB chairman Adarshpal Vig said the board has already handed over the list of hotspot villages and districts to concerned deputy commissioners. “The SDMs, tehsildars and other officials will personally visit these villages and ensure that no fire incidents occur in these villages, besides carrying information, education and communication activities to spread awareness towards stubble burning before the start of paddy harvesting season,” the PPCB chairman said.

As the window for rabi crop wheat is very short after the paddy harvest, farmers set their fields on fire to quickly get rid of crop residue for sowing of the next crop.

The state government has roped in 8,000 employees of multiple departments across the state to report fire incidents on the ground in real time. This year, nearly 5,000 nodal officers, 1,500 cluster coordinators and 1,200 field officers have been deputed in 11,624 villages across the state.

These officers have to share daily action taken reports through a mobile application called Action Taken Report (ATR) developed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) after verification of stubble burning incidents.

The PRSC would send them the latitude and longitude of the location, which would tell the exact location of the incident so that the fire could be doused off.

Focus on ex-situ management

PPCB chairman Vig said that out of the total expected production of 19.52 MT of paddy straw this year, the state is hoping to manage 12.70 MT (65.11%) through in-situ techniques and 5.96 MT (30.53%) through ex-situ measures and .86 MT as fodder.

Last year, 72.5% (11.50 MT) of stubble was managed through in-situ management, while only remaining 3.86 MT (23%) was managed through ex-situ measures, such as transporting paddy straw to industrial boilers, biomass power plants, compressed bio-gas plant, bio-ethanol units and brick kiln to be used as fuel.

“The state agriculture department has already distributed 21,000 fresh subsidised crop residue machines this year so far. For ex-situ management, the department of renewable energy, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and department of industry have already been roped in by the PPCB,” he said.

As many as 1,59,022 machines including 21,000 procured across the state between 2018 and 2024 under the Central scheme for the promotion of agriculture mechanisation for in-situ management of crop residue was started.

The district heads have been directed to ensure no burning of crop residue by special categories, including lease holders of the panchayat land or shamlat land of the villages, government employees, commission agents, panchayat members and any other such category of cultivators.

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