With paddy harvesting picking up pace in Punjab, farmers have started setting fire to the stubble, presaging another harrowing autumn for people in the northern plains, including the national capital region, when smoke from the farm residue blankets the entire region in a toxic haze.
As many as 81 farm fires have been detected on Saturday by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, primarily in the Majha region where harvest begins early. Amritsar recorded 63 cases of farm fires. Overall, 214 cases have been reported in the current Kharif harvesting season so far that started on September 15. Out of these, 174 fires were reported only in Amritsar, followed by 13 in Tarn Taran.
“As per the data of the previous year, the farm fires start from Amritsar due to early harvest and then pick up in Tarn Taran, which usually records the maximum farm fires in the Majha area,” an official of the state’s agriculture department said on condition of anonymity. “The harvest is on time in Majha, while it is delayed in Malwa because of the late sowing of paddy due to floods.”
On September 30 last year, eight fire events were reported. The number was 215 in 2021 on the corresponding date, according to official data. In the past three days since September 27, 122 fire events have been reported.
{{/usCountry}}On September 30 last year, eight fire events were reported. The number was 215 in 2021 on the corresponding date, according to official data. In the past three days since September 27, 122 fire events have been reported.
{{/usCountry}}In an action plan submitted to the Commission for Air Quality Management, the Punjab government has assured that paddy stubble burning would be brought down by 50% in comparison to last year. The state recorded 49,000 farm fires in 2022, down from 71,000 cases in 2021.
This year, the breadbasket state has promised there would be no farm fires in six districts that include Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Roopnagar, Mohali and Nawanshahr.
Punjab has around 31 lakh hectares of area under paddy, which is estimated to generate nearly 20 million tonnes of straw during the harvest season that takes place in October and November. The state government plans to manage around 11.5 million tonnes of straw through various on site management measures and the remaining 4.67 million tonnes by transporting and converting them elsewhere.
Punjab farmers usually have an extremely short window to clear their fields for the winter crop. Invariably, many choose to burn the stubble left behind after the harvest, sending up plumes of smoke that drift over to large population centres, choking habitations in a toxic smog.
The crisis often pushes air pollution in the northern states and that of the national capital Delhi to hazardous levels, with the air quality index climbing past 400 and even 450. Besides Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh farmers also contribute to the smog.
The maximum crop waste-burning incidents were reported in the five districts of Sangrur, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Muktsar and Moga, which recorded about 44% of the total cases in the state, according to last year’s data.
Farmers don’t have any option but to burn the stubble, said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda), a farmers’ collective.
Smallholders can’t afford straw management machines, even at the subsidised rate, Jagmohan said. “A majority of small farmers can’t afford a machine, which would cost ₹1.15 lakh even on subsidy,” he said. “Why would they get a machine worth lakhs, which would be used only for six days in a year?”
The government should give ₹5,000 per acre to each farmer and they would handle the stubble on their own, he said.
The threat of punitive action might not work, Jagmohan said, “We are not scared of these threats. We will protest against the government if they take any action against the farmers for burning stubble,” he said.
Arrangements have been made for the smooth procurement of paddy, which would start on October 1, said Harchand Singh Barsat, chairman of Punjab Mandi Board, which oversees the wholesale trade in farm produce. “All arrangements have been made in the 1,870 grain markets across the state,” Barsat said. “Drinking water and sanitation arrangements for farmers and labourers have already been made.”