POLLUTION

Paddy Residue Burning Drastically Reduced in Punjab, Haryana and NCR in the Past Month Claims Centre

A farmer burns stubble after the harvest of paddy, at an agricultural field on the outskirts of Amritsar. (IANS) — A farmer burns stubble after the harvest of paddy, at an agricultural field on the outskirts of Amritsar.
(IANS)

On Friday, the Central government claimed that paddy residue burning events had been reduced by 69.49% in Punjab, 18.28% in Haryana, and 47.61% in the eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh during the one month since September 15 compared to the same period last year.

As the air pollution situation in the NCR started worsening slowly over the last few days, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has been actively monitoring paddy residue burning events since September 15.

According to a release from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the total reported residue burning events in Punjab is 1,286 since September 15 as against 4,216 for the same period of last year.

Similarly, in Haryana, the reported fire incidents were 487 as against 596. In the eight districts, the total stubble fire incidents reported during this period are 22 as against 42 for the corresponding period of last year.

No fire counts have been reported from Delhi and two NCR districts of Rajasthan.

The first paddy residue burning was reported on September 16 in Punjab, September 18 in the NCR and September 28 in Haryana.

The major hotspots of paddy residue burning in Punjab are Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala, and Ludhiana. These four districts account for 72% of stubble burning events.

The major hotspots in Haryana are Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra, which account for 80% of the stubble burning incidences.

The Commission is taking up with the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh daily to ensure strict implementation of the action plan and the framework to curb paddy residue burning events.

CAQM has also held series of meetings with state government officials, including the district collectors/district magistrates of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

663 fields out of the 1,795 sites where burning has been reported in Punjab, Haryana and eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh until October 14 have been inspected by the enforcement agencies and officials concerned of the respective states.

Environmental Compensation has been imposed in 252 cases.

Harvesting will be at its peak in the next few weeks. The state governments are taking steps as per the Plan of Action to improve the efficacy of enforcement and implementation to tackle the problem of stubble burning effectively.

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The above article has been published from a wire agency with minimal modifications to the headline and text.

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