7 cases of farm fires so far: Haryana govt

A government spokesperson said that chief secretary Anurag Rastogi held a meeting here on Tuesday to review the steps taken to deal with the farm fires.

Haryana government on Tuesday said that till October 6, this paddy harvesting season, there were only seven cases of crop residue burning in the state compared to 150 during the corresponding period last year.

Two of the reported fires were found to be non-agricultural in nature.

A government spokesperson said that chief secretary Anurag Rastogi held a meeting here on Tuesday to review the steps taken to deal with the farm fires.

Of the seven active fire locations reported, action has been taken in three cases by issuing challans, lodging of FIRs, and making red entries in farm records. Two of the reported fires were found to be non-agricultural in nature.

The spokesperson said that all the districts have set up “parali protection forces” to deal with violators, including nodal officers. Each nodal officer is responsible for monitoring 50 farmers in red and yellow zones and 100 farmers in other areas. The deputy commissioners have been directed to ensure that these nodal officers receive proper training through a newly developed mobile application. The nodal officers have to monitor residue management practices, track machinery utilisation, and report any fire incident through the dedicated mobile platform.

The spokesperson said that 90% of the identification work for crop residue management (CRM) machinery has been completed with 51,526 machines confirmed as operational.

“The procurement of new CRM machinery is progressing... Out of 14,088 machines selected through a lottery system, permits have been downloaded for 8,213 machines, and bills have been uploaded for 7,781 machines,” the spokesperson said.