Straw mgmt system a must during harvest

Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, September 19

To prevent the burning of crop residue in Karnal district, the authorities have issued directions to the owners of combine harvesters to attach straw management system mandatorily with the harvester. No machine will be allowed to harvest paddy in the district without a functional straw management system attached to it.

If anyone is found violating the directions, the combine harvester will be impounded for the whole season. As per sources in the Agriculture Department, there are more than 400 combine harvesters in the district.

“We have issued directions to all the registered combine harvesters to attach straw management system mandatorily with the harvesters. We have also asked the farmers to ensure that the system is attached with the combine before the harvesting of their paddy crop. The violator’s combine will be seized and will not be released for the whole season,” said Vinay Pratap Singh, Deputy Commissioner.

This step would keep a tab on straw burning cases and would contribute to preserving the environment, he added.

Several agricultural institutions have conducted study on the straw management system and found that when it is attached with the combine harvester during paddy harvesting, it cuts paddy straw into small pieces from the stem level. That enables the farmers to sow the next crop without burning the paddy straw. Stubble burning is prohibited in the state, the DC said, adding that an awareness campaign would start from September 20 to educate farmers about the ill-effects of stubble burning. A fine of Rs 2,500 per acre would be imposed on the farmers who would be found burning stubble.

As per the data of the Agriculture Department, as many as 1,954 fire incidents had been reported after the harvesting of paddy in 2016, 2017 and 2018 following which 667 FIRs had been registered and a fine of Rs 26.18 lakh was imposed on 1,000 farmers.

After the harvesting of wheat in 2017 and 2018, 416 fire incidents had been reported following which 226 FIRs had been registered and a fine of Rs 6.03 lakh was imposed on 189 farmers.

Aditya Dabas, Deputy Director Agriculture, said that apart from making the attachment of straw management system with combine harvester mandatory, the department has been approaching farmers to develop custom-hiring centres in the district for effective management of stubble under the In-Situ Crop Residue Management Scheme of the Union Government to encourage farmers to stop stubble burning.