: Despite various initiatives by the government to encourage farmers not to burn crop residue, the farm fires continued unabated in Haryana, with the state registering 217 stubble burning incidents on Sunday, the highest single day count so far.
With this, the total cases of farm fires have reached 1,110.
The state has witnessed a surge in the cases of stubble burning in the last couple of days during the festival season as the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) detected highest 53 active fire locations (AFLs) in Kaithal district, followed by 39 in Kurukshetra, 31 in Karnal, 23 in Ambala, 21 in Yamunanagar, 16 in Fatehabad, 11 in Palwal and 4 in Hisar.
The state government has taken several initiatives to put a check on farm fires with the agriculture department providing 50% to 80% subsidy on the purchase of crop residue management machines, besides ₹1,000 cash paid to farmers for in-situ and ex-situ management of crop waste.
The reports suggest that most fire incidents are being reported in northern districts of the state with nearly 70% or 773 incidents of the total 1,110 cases reported in districts of Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Ambala.
{{/usCountry}}The reports suggest that most fire incidents are being reported in northern districts of the state with nearly 70% or 773 incidents of the total 1,110 cases reported in districts of Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Ambala.
{{/usCountry}}However, officials of the agriculture department are of the view that early sowing of wheat has led to an increase in the number of farm fires in Haryana. However, farmers say that rains have shorten the window for sowing the next crop.
“I had used machines for the ex-citu management of the crop waste in four acres harvested earlier, but the rains have irrigated the fields and the crop waste could not be utilised for other purposes and we have decided to burn the crop waste of three acres as this is the best time for sowing wheat,” said a farmer from Kurukshetra’s Ladwa block, requesting anonymity.
Another farmer of Indri in Karnal said, “we cannot wait for the machines to manage the crop waste as the fields are ready for sowing, and if the fields dried up, we will have to irrigate it again and it will take another 10-12 days to get it ready for sowing, now we have decided to burn the crop waste as it is the only best and cheapest solution to get rid of crop waste,” he added.
Agriculture department officials said the situation of farm fires is being monitored closely and the total number of cases was 36 per cent lower than that of the 1,726 incidents reported in the state from September 15 to October 23 last year.
The sudden rise in the incidents of farm fires is worrisome as the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas had directed the Haryana government to bring down farm fires by 50% during the current paddy harvesting season in comparison to the last year. Even the state chief secretary in a virtual meeting with the deputy commissioners on Friday told them to take immediate steps to put a check on stubble burning.
The sudden increase in the cases of stubble burning has deteriorated the air quality of several Haryana cities. As per the air quality bulletin of the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality of Dharuhera (277), Charkhi Dadri (265), Ambala (261), Bahadurgarh (255), Hisar (245) and Jind (241), Gurugram (251) was recorded as ‘poor’.