Air quality dips in Gurugram, admin to penalise farmers found burning stubble
A senior district administration said that the objective of the appeal was to ensure that directions issued by Commission for Air Quality Management regarding stubble burning were implemented strictly. No local instances have been reported till now, he added
The district administration on Wednesday said any farmer found burning crop residue will be penalised at the rate of ₹2,500 per acre and appealed to farmers not to burn stubble as it is leads to pollution in the city.
A senior district administration said that the objective of the appeal was to ensure that directions issued by Commission for Air Quality Management regarding stubble burning were implemented strictly. No local instances have been reported till now, he added.
The district administration on Wednesday also said it has formed teams at different levels to curb the burning of stubble in the district.
Owing to the small window between paddy harvest and wheat sowing, farmers burn paddy crop residue to get the fields ready for wheat sowing. Large-scale burning of straw has been ascertained by various studies as being the major contributor to smog over north India, particularly Delhi and the National Capital Region, leading to a public health and environmental crisis.
“I appeal to farmers in the district to not burn crop residue as it causes heavy pollution and also impacts the green cover and animal population, apart from affecting the general public. We have formed teams to ensure that vigilance is maintained and those violating these directions will face a penalty,” said Nishant Yadav, deputy commissioner, Gurugram.
According to the directions of the district administration, a farmer found burning crop residue will face a penalty of ₹2,500 per acre. Yadav said directions have been issued to the pollution control department, and teams have been formed at the village, block, district and division level to keep a check on the activity and immediately act if any instance is found.
Yadav also said farmers are being given equipment and machinery at a subsidised rate to manage crop residue, and they should avail of these machinery.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality index (AQI) in Gurugram dipped on Wednesday to 120 or “moderate” from Tuesday’s AQI of 58, which was in the “satisfactory” range. Prior to that, for four days, the AQI had remained “good”, owing to the heavy and continuous rain and increased wind speeds.
Sachin Panwar, city based air quality expert, said the wind speed reduced on Wednesday, thereby affecting the dispersal of pollutants.Since the amount of moisture in the air is also high, that leads to an increase in the pollution level. “The air quality will deteriorate further in the next few days and move to AQI will move to the “poor” category due to low wind speed, and lower mixing height. After October 15, the AQI is going to get worse as farm fires in Punjab and Haryana pick up and impact the air quality,” he said.
Experts also said there will be a sustained dip in temperature in the coming days, which will also ensure that pollutants don’t get dispersed.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said shallow to moderate fog prevailed in isolated pockets over Delhi-NCR and eastern Uttar Pradesh in the morning hours.
In Gurugram, fog was observed for the first time this season but it dissipated after 9.30am. Residents near open areas of the city said visibility was low in the early hours of Wednesday. The IMD further said dry weather will prevail in most parts of north-west India from Thursday onwards.
The IMD in Chandigarh observed that there was rise of 2.4 degrees Celsius (ºC) in the average maximum temperature on Wednesday but it was still three degrees below normal in the state. There was a fall in the average minimum temperature by 0.7ºC on Wednesday, but it was near normal, the weatherman said. The maximum temperature in the city on Wednesday was 31.6ºC while minimum was at 20.8ºC.
