Haryana Govt claims over farm fires fall flat

Tribune News Service

Parveen Arora

Karnal, November 7

Amid the claims of the government of a significant fall in the crop residue burning cases in the district in the current season, the ground reality seems to be different. The satellite data released by the government says Karnal, one of the major paddy growing districts, has reported 100 incidents of stubble burning against 271 cases during the corresponding period last year, which is 0.17 per cent of the total registered farmers on the Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB) portal.

The findings by The Tribune indicate that the fire incidents could be higher as the huge difference between the farmers registering on the portal for selling paddy and those registering for incentives for not burning stubble indicates that the number of farm fires belies the claims of the government.

As many as 56,743 farmers registered on the portal for selling paddy, while 12,083 farmers applied for the incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre for not burning stubble on 1,24,266 acres. The difference raises the question, what have the remaining farmers done with the stubble?

The management of almost half of the paddy straw generated by non-basmati varieties is unexplained, which also indicates that the stubble could have been set on fire on higher areas.

As per an estimate of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Karnal produces around 8 lakh MT of straw comprising around 3 lakh MT of basmati varieties and nearly 5 lakh MT of non-basmati varieties. Most of the straw generated by basmati varieties is used as fodder. Of the remaining 5 lakh non-basmati straw, around 2.5 lakh MT stubble has been managed by the farmers.

The government data is inaccurate and the actual number of stubble-burning incidents is much higher, allege farmers.

Claiming that the fire data is under-reported, experts also argue that the official data is based on satellite images, which could miss smaller and scattered fires undetected by sensors. Dr Virender Singh Lather, former principal scientist, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, says, “The satellite data should be cross-verified with ground-level surveys and inspections to get a more realistic picture.” Stubble burning can be managed by incorporating stubble in the soil by deep ploughing, he adds.

The authorities, meanwhile, maintain that they have taken several steps to prevent and penalise stubble burning. It has provided 7,614 machines to farmers and deployed nodal officers at the village, block, subdivision, and district levels to monitor and report cases of farm fires.

Three-day holiday for classes I to V

• District Education Officer of Kaithal district Ravinder Chaudhary has announced a three-day holiday for students of classes I to V in all schools of the district due to rising pollution. The holiday will be effective from November 8 to 10
• The DEO said the decision had been taken after consultation with the district administration as the air quality index (AQI) in the district had crossed the 300 mark, which was considered “very poor” and harmful to health

Where is the remaining stubble?

• As many as 56,743 farmers registered on MFMB portal for selling paddy, while 12,083 applied for the incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre for not burning stubble on 1,24,266 acres. The difference raises the question, what have the remaining farmers done with the stubble?

Total registered farmers 56,743

• Farm fires reported so far 100
• Total area under paddy cultivation 4.4 lakh acres
• Number of farmers who have applied for incentive 12,083
• Area for which incentive has been applied 1,24,266 acres
• Expected production of paddy straw 8 LMT

No question of under-reporting

The HARSAC is a government agency which provides satellite data. There is no question of under-reporting. We verify the locations shared by it and take action against the defaulters. — Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture

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