Farmers in Ghaziabad to be penalised if found burning stubble

The Ghaziabad district administration on Thursday issued an advisory to farmers engaged in harvesting crops in the district to not burn any stubble in order to keep

The Ghaziabad district administration on Thursday issued an advisory to farmers engaged in harvesting crops in the district to not burn any stubble in order to keep air pollution in check. The Uttar Pradesh government recently allowed farmers to harvest crops amid the lockdown while maintaining social distancing norms.

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The advisory issued by the district officials recommends a penalty of ₹2,500 per acre of land for every instance of stubble burning if the area under cultivation is up to 2 acres. The penalty will be ₹5,000 per acre of land for land more than 2 acres and up to 5 acres. A penalty of ₹15,000 per instance per acre is recommended in case the land under cultivation is more than 5 acres.

Officials of the district agricultural department said legal action may also be taken against violators for stubble burning. “We have issued an advisory to the farmers directing them not to indulge in any form of stubble burning which may pollute the environment and affect the air quality. The harvesting season is on and about 20-25% of harvesting is already complete in over 26,302 hectare of total land under cultivation in the district,” Virendra Kumar, deputy director, agriculture department.

The advisory has recommended gram panchayats in the district to ensure that the stubble is processed through the combine harvestor (a machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of crops), and in case a gram panchayat does not require the stubble, they should ensure that the stubble is taken to the cow shelters where it can be used as fodder for cattle.

Ever since the lockdown came into effect, air pollution has come down in Ghaziabad. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI), however, remains in the ‘moderate’ category.

“As a result of dusty winds coming from Rajasthan, the AQI in the NCR region is not in the ‘satisfactory’ category. The average wind speed is about 15-17kmph, and this situation will prevail for another three or four days. On April 17, there could be some light rain, but it is not likely to result in any significant improvement in the air quality,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head of India Meteorological Department’s Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, New Delhi.

“Since industrial units are shut, vehicles are not playing on the roads these days, and there has been no instance of stubble burning, the PM2.5 levels are still lower than before. However, the dusty winds and local dust have resulted in high PM10 levels,” he added.

On April 16, the AQI of Ghaziabad was at 250 under the ‘poor’ category, while it was in the ‘moderate’ category on April 15 with the AQI at 194.