Stubble burning hits peak, Delhi chokes
As stubble burning hits a late peak, New Delhi continues to choke on one of the longest severe air cycles with AQI persisting over 400. The Centre, meanwhile, once again mulls measures to handle the air pollution with stronger disincentives for farm fi res, subsidies for crop diversification and shorter crop cycle. Several of these measures are likely to be mentioned before the Supreme Court hearing next week. Anubhuti Vishnoi takes a look:
STUBBLE STATUS
LATE HARVEST: Late rain spells this year delayed sowing of paddy in large parts of Punjab, also prolonging the usual harvest period. While most of the harvesting and stubble disposal is usually completed by mid-November, some pockets are yet to do so in Punjab leading to increased farm fi res this week and high AQI persisting in Delhi-NCR.
ENFORCEMENT: Rs 1.5 crore worth Environmental Compensation (EC) has been imposed in 5,889 cases of those indulging in stubble fi res, as per data from Punjab until November 14. In Haryana, Rs 38.75 lakh EC is imposed in 1,480 cases. FIRs have been fi led in 291 cases and red entry made in farm records in 534 cases in Punjab.
STUBBLE PEAK: Enforcement to stop stubble burning is clearly not effective enough. Stubble fi res are reaching the peak this week with 25% farm fi res reported between November 8-14 in Punjab and 14.6% from Haryana. Eleven hotspot districts in Punjab and seven in Haryana continue to spew high levels of farm fi re smoke. Punjab, which was aiming at restricting farm fi res to under 25,000 this time, has already counted over 28,117 stubble fi res between September 15 November 14 and more to go.
UNDER DISCUSSION – Centre to states
With the Supreme Court set to hear the case of New Delhi’s chronic air pollution and stubble fi re problem next week, states and the Centre have been mulling possible new steps needed.
FARM FIRE DISINCENTIVES: States to consider serious disincentives to check stubble burning. On the table – EC charges based on area of farm holdings, restricting purchase of paddy under MSP from farmers who resort to farm fi res and linking ‘red entry’ for farm fi res in Punjab as a way to restrict benefits under various other state schemes besides FIRs and prosecution under Air Act, 1981.
INCENTIVES
SUBSIDY:Centre is looking at subsidy schemes for ex-situ paddy stubble managements for baling units, briquetting plants, pellet manufacturing and torrefication plants besides bio-ethanol plants by private operators and viability gap funding through Power/New and Renewable Energy ministry for biomass power projects.
CROP DIVERSIFICATION: Mentioned as an option in the course of SC hearings, it is being deliberated upon. The agriculture ministry and the state governments are discussing appropriate Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops like maize and millets besides promotion of basmati rice cultivation which yields less straw and is also usable as fodder.
CROP CYCLE: State governments to consider Direct Seeding of Rice method instead of conventional transplantation to shorten overall crop cycle time so that harvest season arrives earlier than the ‘pollution season’ onset in Delhi-NCR.
HARYANA MODEL: Haryana’s various crop diversification and stubble ex-situ management schemes highlighted to Punjab for possible emulation
Source Link:https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/stubble-burning-hits-peak-delhi-chokes/ar-AA1k2PG5
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