There has been 33.5% rise in stubble burning between September 15 and November 1 and Punjab has been a key factor, according to central data seen by ET. Between September 15 and November 1, 2021, there were 15,065 fire counts in Punjab, but this year it is 17,846. On Tuesday alone, 1,846 fire counts were reported in Punjab against 1,796 in 2021. The figure is expected to climb since almost 40% harvesting in Punjab remains to be completed.
Over 70% farm fires were reported this year in Amritsar, Sangrur, Firozpur, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Patiala and Tarn Taran districts, all red flagged last year too. Haryana recorded 24% decline in stubble fires this year. Its cumulative fire count between September 15 and November 1 was 2083, down from 3,038 in 2021. UP’s region around NCR too saw decline from 53 fire counts to 33.
AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab cited Centre’s refusal to fund cash incentives for farmers for higher stubble burning this year. However, the Centre’s assessment shows utilisation of 120,000 crop residue machines available with Punjab has been “far from satisfactory” and “heavy idling of machines” has been a “drain on resources”.
The assessments said there were successful field experiences with bio-decomposers in UP, Haryana and even Delhi, but “no efforts were made in Punjab” for employing the technique for stubble management. Haryana has opted for bio decomposer usage across 5,00,000 acres to rid it of stubble and in 138,000 acres UP’s NCR districts. Punjab deployed bio decomposers in 7,500 acres only, though a CSR initiative through Nurture Farms managed to use them in another 250,000 acres.
The assessments said significant effort was not seen on enhancing straw usage for ex situ applications or supply of fodder to fodder deficient areas. It found awareness and sensitisation campaigns in Punjab were not effective. “Ineffective monitoring and enforcement at field level” contributed to the situation, the assessments said. They maintained the Centre sent over ₹1,347 crore to Punjab in the last five financial years, including in 2022-23, to address stubble burning.
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