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Stop govt scheme benefits to those burning stubble: Haryana pollution body
Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has recommended stopping benefits to farmers who burn paddy, due to rising cases of farm fires.
Concerned over the rising cases of farm fires in the state that lead to the annual pollution woes, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has recommended stopping the benefits of government schemes to farmers who burn paddy every year.
Read here: Stop govt benefits to those burning crop residue: Haryana pollution body
The state has recorded 209 stubble burning events so far this year, including 19 on Friday. The total figure is nearly three times the fires recorded till October 6 last year, according to state data.
“Environmental pollution is very harmful and farmers who burn crop waste against the government’s directions should not be given the benefits of government schemes,” HSPCB chairman P Raghavendra Rao said during a meeting with officials from Kaithal district administration.
Rao also directed the officials to prepare a database of such farmers. The officials were also asked to explore other alternatives to burning crop waste.
The practice of stubble burning in Haryana and the adjacent state of Punjab leads to an annual pollution crisis around October, which lasts weeks, prompting emergency measures in the national capital of Delhi. In these states, farmers set fire to paddy stalks around October to clear their fields for their next crop — wheat. This releases millions of tonne of smoke, carbon dioxide, and other toxic gases into the atmosphere.
Punjab fires on the rise, air quality worsens
In the food-bowl state of Punjab, a total of 91 more farm fires were recorded on Friday, even as the air quality deteriorated in various parts of the state.
With the additional paddy burning events, their total number reached 845 so far this year as harvesting of the key kharif crop gains momentum.
Read here: Centre allocates ₹600 crore to curb stubble burning
The air quality index (AQI) is measured in six districts by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Its Friday data on showed that AQI was the worst in Bathinda with a reading of 191, or “moderate” category, followed by 165 in Mandi Gobindgarh, 130 in Rupnagar, 120 in Patiala, 111 in Ludhiana and 110 in Khanna.
The AQI of Amritsar and Jalandhar was “satisfactory” at 89 and 83, respectively.
According to CCB, an AQI between zero and 50 level is considered “good”, while 51 and 100 as “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 as “moderate”, 201 and 300 as “poor”, 301 to 400 as “very poor” and 401 to 500 as “severe”.
