Just two days after LG VK Saxena voiced concerns about air pollution in Delhi stemming from stubble burning in neighboring states, a video has surfaced showing farmers burning stubble in a field in Daduana village, Amritsar, on September 28. This latest incident reignites worries about Delhi’s air quality during the winter season, as stubble burning continues to contribute to smog in the national capital.
Earlier, on September 26, LG Saxena had raised the issue during the 31st North Zonal Council meeting in Amritsar, urging the states to work together to address this critical problem. The meeting, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, included discussions on various pollution issues, including crop stubble burning during winters.
An official, as quoted by the Indian Express, stated, “The LG pointed out that despite the issue being raised and discussed in the last zonal council meeting in Jaipur in 2022, it remained unaddressed, particularly on the part of Punjab.”
During the meeting, LG Saxena highlighted that while Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh had taken measures to combat the menace of stubble burning, Delhi continued to suffer from ‘acute air pollution’ due to the smoke emanating from Punjab. Despite writing a letter to the Punjab state chief minister on November 4, 2022, the problem persisted.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has submitted a State action plan and District-wise action plans to address stubble burning to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for the current paddy harvesting season. The government’s plan commits to reducing paddy stubble burning incidents by over 50 percent compared to 2022 and aims to eliminate farm fires in six districts of Punjab.
Punjab is expected to generate approximately 20 million tonnes of paddy straw in 2023, including 3.3 million tonnes of Basmati straw. The state currently possesses 117,672 Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines, and the procurement of around 23,000 more machines is underway. CAQM has urged the Punjab Government to efficiently utilize these CRM machines through the 23,792 Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) established for this purpose.
The plan aims to completely eliminate paddy stubble burning cases in six districts: Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), and SBS Nagar. Notably, the five districts of Sangrur, Bathinda, Firozpur, Muktasar, and Moga accounted for about 44 percent of the total crop-burning incidents in Punjab, according to 2022 data. These efforts are crucial in mitigating the annual issue of stubble burning and its adverse effects on air quality in Delhi and neighboring regions.
