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Govt taking steps to check stubble burning, says Union minister
Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said the Centre has been supported by Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments to deal with menace.
Ahead of the stubble burning season in Punjab and Haryana, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday said steps are being taken to manage paddy residue.
Stubble burning in the northern part of the country has long been a major cause of air pollution.
The minister said the Centre has been supported by Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments to deal with menace. Yadav, who is also the Union minister of labour and employment, was interacting with the media at Shram Bureau Bhawan in Chandigarh on the sidelines of the 101st foundation day celebration of the Labour Bureau.
Outlining measures taken by the government to reduce stubble burning, he said: “Crop residue is not a waste anymore. It has economic viability as well. The NTPC and other thermal power plants are purchasing the crop residue. The government has given around ₹700 crore to these states for the higher use of crop residue removal machines.”
After harvesting paddy, the main kharif crop, in October, farmers set their fields on fire to clear the crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato. Yadav said that some experiments have been conducted on the use of biological decomposition technology. “We have held meetings with states and control rooms have also been set up,” he said.
The Union minister also mentioned about creating straw-based animal feed for the Kutch region in Gujarat.
During the event he also flagged off the field work of the Area Frame Establishment Survey (AFES). “The ministry of labour and employment has entrusted the Labour Bureau with three major all-India surveys on migrant workers, quarterly establishment-based employment survey (AQEES) and domestic workers,” he said.
