Haryana appears to be making an early breakthrough in its battle against paddy stubble burning, with the state recording just four farm-fire incidents till October 3, even as the paddy harvesting season gathers pace.
“Strict enforcement and incentives have helped reduce such incidents significantly in recent years. A total 218 burning events were detected in the six states between September 15 to October 4, Punjab has witnessed the highest 79 incidents followed by 70 in Madhya Pradesh, 59 in Uttar Pradesh and 4 each in Haryana and Rajasthan and one each in Delhi and Uttarakhand. The practice could be further curbed if Haryana and Punjab fully implement their 2018 orders mandating SMS-equipped combine harvesters and provide a ₹ 2,000-per-acre incentive for farmers who incorporate stubble into the soil through deep ploughing.
According to the latest data of consortium for research on agroecosystem monitoring and modeling from space (CREAMS) laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) tracks daily paddy residue burning events across key Indian states using polar-orbiting satellite sensors. This would also improve soil fertility and provide an environmentally sustainable solution”, said Virender Singh Lather, former principal scientist at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi.
