To keep a check on paddy straw burning in the state, the Haryana Government has so far issued 939 challans and imposed fines of over ₹25.12 lakh on farmers practicing stubble burning, officials told PTI on Friday.
With many reports indicating the inefficiency of the state government to successfully introduce alternative measures of crop residue management, stubble burning continues to be a common practice in Punjab and Haryana. However, there has been a 38 percent reduction in stubble-burning incidents during the current harvesting season over the previous year, officials told PTI.
The reduction in stubble burning falls short in front of the menace of low air quality. That’s why Haryana Govt is now taking punitive actions against stubble-burning to t offenders.
The officials said the state government is taking stringent action against those responsible for the farm fires, having imposed 939 challans with fines totalling over ₹25.12 lakh by October 31.
Govt vigilant about AQI in the state: Haryana Chief Secretary
Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal assured that the state government is vigilant about the air quality index (AQI) in the state. He also said that the government has implemented stricter measures to further reduce paddy straw burning.
Some places in Haryana have reported air quality indices in the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories during the past few days.
There has been a 38% reduction in stubble burning in the state. Last year, a total of 2,083 cases of stubble burning, which decreased to 1,296 cases in 2023, the chief secretary said during a virtual meeting.
The state government recently introduced the ‘Haryana Ex-situ Management of Paddy Straw – 2023’ scheme, which aims to ensure an adequate supply of paddy straw to biomass-based projects.
The Chief Secretary also said that the Haryana Space Applications Centre is also monitoring paddy straw burning events on a real-time basis. The government has also deployed district/block-level enforcement teams and flying squads.
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Updated: 03 Nov 2023, 06:59 PM IST