The Haryana government said on Friday that a recent report released by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) had shown a steep decline in farm fire incidents in Haryana.
тАЬConcrete steps taken by the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government to curb stubble burning are reflected in this report. The recent satellite images of stubble burning and arson incidents in northern India issued by Nasa clearly show that in the past 24 hours, farm fire incidents in Haryana have come down even further, while the live images of stubble burning can be seen in three-fourths of the area of neighbouring state Punjab,тАЭ a government spokesperson said.
тАЬAs per the data released for the past 24 hours, very few incidents of stubble burning have been reported in Haryana. This clearly highlights the fact that Haryana governmentтАЩs stubble management programme has been a success. The state governmentтАЩs data also shows that the incidents of stubble burning in Haryana have come down by 25 per cent this year while in Punjab these incidents have increased by 20 per cent. The Haryana government has not only launched an awareness campaign to make farmers aware of the ill effects of stubble burning, but also gives a Rs 1,000-per-acre incentive for not burning stubble and for its proper management. Besides this, a Rs 50-per-quintal incentive and a subsidy on straw management equipment are also given to the farmers for making stubble bales. Farmers are being given a 50 per cent subsidy on equipment for crop residue management and an 80 per cent subsidy on custom hiring centresтАЭ.
тАЬIf any farmer takes stubble bales to the ethanol plants set up at Karnal and Panipat, he is given an incentive of Rs 2,000 per acre. Furthermore, if he brings the stubble to Gaushalas, then an incentive of Rs 1,500 is given to him. The government also gives up to Rs 10 lakh to panchayats for not burning stubble in the red zone. Last year, the government allocated Rs 216 crore for stubble management. The government has given more than 72,000 machines to farmers for crop residue management. It has set a target of taking this to 80,000 this year so that farmers can manage most of the crop residues at the ground level. Besides this, in Haryana itself, 24 types of industries have agreed to buy stubble, under which command areas will be opened in every district and stubble will be procured. Haryana has also created a new portal for this, on which information on contractors and industries who buy stubble will be available, and farmers who want to sell stubble can contact them directly through the portal. Last year, about 1.75 lakh tonnes of stubble was procured by the biogas plant in Haryana.
тАЬIt has also been planned to set up biomass-power plants in Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Fatehabad and Jind to use the stubble to generate electricity. Apart from this, plans for about 49.08 MW capacity have been approved by the government, and work is in progress on these projects in Kaithal and Kurukshetra,тАЭthe spokesperson added.
