 "stubble burning, pollution, air pollution")
There is no cool comfort in northern India with the onset of winter, as the hot and humid days are set to give way to a period of suffocating air pollution caused by stubble burning.
The number of stubble-burning incidents in the region until Monday surpassed the total count of the past two years combined, according to data from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (Creams), managed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
The region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, witnessed 682 stubble-burning incidents during September 15-October 2 this year — higher than the combined 633 incidents in 2021 and 2022 for the period, the data shows.
The retreat of the southwest monsoon from northern India and an early harvest have contributed to the rise in instances of stubble burning in the six states. Despite the Delhi government’s assurance of curbing pollution with its winter action plan, the task appears challenging with the Punjab government struggling to control stubble-burning cases. The Punjab government has also committed to reducing paddy stubble burning incidents by over 50 per cent this year compared to 2022 and aims to eliminate farm fires in six districts of the state.
However, the latest data reveals a staggering 65 per cent surge in stubble-burning cases in Punjab this year to 456, with Amritsar district reporting a majority of them at 333.
In Haryana, the increase in stubble-burning cases was astonishing, with the state witnessing a more than 1,000 per cent surge. The state reported 120 cases this year, as against mere nine cases last year.
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With rising instances of stubble burning, the Haryana government has issued a series of strict directives.
On Friday, the state government announced that fines imposed on offenders would be published in newspapers. Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said that “anyone who damages the environment is acting against the interests of humanity”, stressing the need for decisive actions against those violating anti-stubble-burning regulations.
Among other states, Uttar Pradesh reported 57 cases of stubble burning, while Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had 30 and 18 cases, respectively. During September 15-30 last year, there were 10 incidents in Uttar Pradesh and one in Delhi.
The farm fire season typically starts around September 15 and goes on until November 15. While stubble burning generally ceases in Punjab and Haryana by November 25, it continues in other regions, such as eastern Uttar Pradesh, until December, albeit on a smaller scale.
To combat the issue, the central Government has allocated Rs 600 crore to states for the management of paddy straws. This allocation includes a new initiative for ex-situ supply chain management ahead of the stubble-burning season. Approximately Rs 105 crore has already been disbursed to Punjab, which records the highest stubble-burning incidents, while Rs 90 crore has been allocated to Haryana. The government has expanded the guidelines of the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme this year to encompass subsidies for ex-situ management of paddy straws, in addition to subsidies for in-situ management machinery like happy-seeders and super-seeders, aimed at preventing stubble burning.
