E-Paper
Efforts on for zero farm fire goal: Punjab to Centre
Last year, Punjab claimed to have brought down farm fires by 26% (from 49,922 in 2022 to 36,623 in 2023). However, the area on which farm fires were reported (as recorded by satellites) went up —from 15 lakh acres in 2022 to 19 lakh acres in 2023.
The Punjab government on Thursday assured the Centre that it is making efforts to bring down stubble burning cases to zero this year.
Every year, during the paddy harvest season (October to November), which coincides with the onset of winters, smoke rising from the fields of Punjab and Haryana leads to formation of a smog jacket over the region, especially the National Capital Region, causing severe health and environmental hazards.
In a workshop organised by the state government on Thursday, wherein top officials from the Centre, including secretary agriculture Manoj Ahuja, were in attendance, Punjab’s special chief secretary of agriculture and rural development department, KAP Sinha said, “The Supreme Court has asked us to bring down stubble cases to zero, and we are making efforts in this direction.”
Officials from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also attended the workshop, in which in-situ and ex-situ management of paddy stubble and diversification were discussed.
Last year, Punjab claimed to have brought down farm fires by 26% (from 49,922 in 2022 to 36,623 in 2023). However, the area on which farm fires were reported (as recorded by satellites) went up —from 15 lakh acres in 2022 to 19 lakh acres in 2023.
This year, Punjab farmers have sown paddy over 31.54 lakh hectares, out of which 6.58 lakh hectares is of aromatic premium basmati variety.
In an action plan sent by the Punjab government to the CAQM, it has been decided to give 36,020 subsidised machines for in-situ and ex-situ management of the crop residue, for which an outlay of ₹500 crore has been sought. The state government would contribute 40% of this amount while the rest is to be borne by the Centre.
In six years, (from 2018 to 2023), the state government has received ₹1,560 crore to supply subsidised machines for crop residue management (CRM) to the farmers, and till 2023 138,022 machines have been supplied to the farmers.
Earlier this month, the commission for air quality management (CAQM) had directed Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to make changes to their stubble burning action plans for this year’s paddy harvest season.
