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The Centre has asked the Punjab government to prepare a comprehensive action plan at the micro level for effective control of stubble burning as paddy harvesting has begun. The high level of air pollution in the national capital region of Delhi during winter has become an annual feature, which is partly due to burning of crop residues in Punjab and Haryana, among other factors.
Abhilaksh Likhi, an additional secretary in the Agriculture Ministry has been sent by the Centre to Punjab, while more officials may also visit regularly, sources said. Likhi, during his visit, attended a field level demonstration programme on crop residue management (CRM) at Rangian village in SAS Nagar district in Punjab, an official statement said.
He said states (including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh) should establish a mechanism to ensure effective utilisation of machines, promote use of bio-decomposer in a complimentary mode with CRM machines, promote ex-situ utilisation of straw by way of mapping demand from adjoining industries, including biomass-based power plants and bio-ethanol plants.
He asked the Punjab government to take up Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities for mass awareness among farmers through intensive campaigns in the electronic/ print media, social media as well as through Kisan Melas.
Total funds available (including unspent balance of last year) with the States and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during 2022-23 is Rs 916 crore, which is enough to carry out the programme to reduce incidents of stubble burning. Out of this fund, Punjab has Rs 240 crore, Haryana Rs 191.53 crore and Uttar Pradesh Rs 154.29 crore, the ministry said, adding ICAR has got Rs 14.18 crore.
During the last four years, the Centre released Rs 2,440 crore and these states have distributed more than 2.07 lakh machines to both farmers and Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs). Pusa Decomposer, a microbial consortium of fungal species (both in liquid and capsule forms) developed by ICAR, has been found effective for rapid in-situ decomposition of paddy straw.
The Centre introduced the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme in 2018-19, under which financial assistance @50 per cent is provided to the farmers for purchase of CRM machinery and @80 per cent to Cooperative Societies, FPOs and Panchayats for establishment of CHCs. The scheme promotes usage of machines such as Super Straw Management Systems, Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Smart Seeder, zero till seed-cum-fertiliser drill, Mulcher, Paddy Straw Chopper, hydraulically reversible mould board plough, crop reapers and reaper binders.
A total 82,533 burning events were detected in the three states last year between September 15 and November 30, which was 7.71 per cent lower than the incidents noticed year-ago.
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