‘Fewer cases of stubble burning in Haryana this time’, says Manohar Lal Khattar
The Haryana government has engineered a strategy to prevent farm fires during the paddy stubble burning season
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that the government has asked industries to use stubble for producing ethanol in a bid to stop farmers from burning the crop residue, which results in severe deterioration of air quality.
“This time there are fewer cases of stubble burning. At some places those who are doing it, we are taking strict action against them,” Khattar added.
The Haryana government has engineered a strategy to prevent farm fires during the paddy stubble burning season. Over 34 lakh acres are engaged in harvesting paddy crops in the state.
The government has offered monetary incentives to farmers, introduced staggered paddy harvesting, created awareness through various campaigns, and panchayats have passed zero stubble burning resolutions to discourage farmers from burning crop residue.
The government has also tied up with gaushalas, packaging companies, brick kilns, paper making and furniture industries to help utilise the crop residue. “The government is providing ₹1,000 per acre to farmers and industries are also coming to buy stubble this time,” Khattar told reporters and reiterated that they “will not let the pollution increase”.
For 2021-22, ₹141 crore has been released under the crop residue management (CRM) scheme. The government is also planning on putting to use an additional previously unspent amount of ₹58 crores for stubble management this year.
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change said on Friday that paddy residue burning has gone down by 18.28% in Haryana, in comparison to the same time last year. The state has reported 487 paddy burning incidents in comparison to 596 such incidents reported last year, the ministry added.
The three districts of Karnal, Kaithal, and Kurukshetra account for 80% of stubble burning incidents in the state. The state government put 922 hotspot villages, 199 in the red zone and 723 in the yellow zone, under active monitoring. Fatehabad, Kaithal, Jind, Karnal, Sirsa and Kurukshetra districts were put under a red alert. All red and yellow zone farmers were given permission to buy crop residue management machines this year.
(with agency inputs)