An urgent meeting was held on air pollution. As per the directions of the Supreme Court, the Cabinet Secretary chaired a meeting with the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and NCT Delhi and other senior officials on November 8. According to sources, the meeting was also attended by the Chairman of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and Secretaries of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Affairs and Power.
Punjab accounts for 93 percent of stubble burning incidents
Based on the data provided by CAQM and the information provided by the state governments, it is revealed that the current emergency situation is mainly due to stubble burning. On November 8, it contributed 38 percent to air pollution levels. In the period from September 15 to November 7, 22,644 incidents of stubble burning were reported, of which 20,978 (93 percent) were reported in Punjab and 1,605 (7 percent) in Haryana.
Brainstorming on stopping straw burning in Punjab
During the discussion it was also revealed that more than 90 per cent harvesting has been completed in Haryana, while 60 per cent has been completed in Punjab. Therefore, immediate steps are needed to ban stubble burning during the rest of the harvesting season, especially in Punjab. After a detailed discussion, the Cabinet Secretary directed that the Punjab State Administration should take effective measures to prevent stubble burning incidents in the remaining days of this cropping season.
There was agreement that liability should be determined.
Responsibility of DC/DM, SSP and SHO should be determined so that stubble is not burnt too much. CAQM should send flying squads to Punjab and Haryana and submit daily reports on farm fire incidents and status of implementation of Hon’ble Supreme Court directives by DC/SSP. CPCB should provide required number of manpower to CAQM.
Instructions for complete use of the seeder machine
Details of all follow-up action taken by all State Governments in respect of cases reported during the last two years regarding violation of ban on farm burning shall be shared with CAQM. It may also be noted that Rs 3,333 crore has been released so far by the Ministry of Agriculture under the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme. Out of this Rs 1531 crore was given to Punjab and Rs 1006 crore to Haryana.
About 1.20 lakh seeder machines are available in Punjab and 76,000 seeder machines in Haryana under the CRM scheme. With optimum use of these machines, incidents of stubble burning could have been prevented to a large extent. The state governments of Punjab and Haryana were directed to make full use of available seeder machines to avoid stubble burning.
Decision to emphasize crop diversification
It may be noted that the Haryana government is implementing its own incentive scheme for ex-situ crop residue (ex-situ) management, which includes procurement of straw from farmers and its transportation. The Haryana government also informed about the incentive scheme implemented for crop diversification to encourage farmers to plant other crops instead of paddy.
The Punjab government should also immediately initiate and announce similar schemes to prevent farmers from burning parsnips for the rest of this year and next year. Haryana government should make efforts to increase and expand the scope of its ex-situ management scheme so that stubble burning does not occur in the coming year. It was noted that the Ministry of Agriculture has initiated a scheme for ex-situ management of crop residues. All the states have been asked to ensure effective implementation of the scheme in their respective states and make full use of the funds.
Also Read-
- Mahua Moitra bribery scandal: The Ethics Committee approved the report, with 6 members in favor while 4 opposed.
- Assembly in Bihar passes 75 per cent reservation bill, surpasses SC limit