Haryana to take action to make it a stubble-burning-free state, says chief secretary

In a strong reaffirmation of the Haryana Government’s commitment to combat stubble-burning and its detrimental effects on air quality and public health, Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad urged deputy commissioners to take decisive action towards making Haryana a stubble-burning-free state.

During a virtual meeting with divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners and superintendents of police from Fatehabad, Jind, Kaithal, Ambala, Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Hisar, Sonipat and Yamunanagar, Prasad directed them to form a four-member committee at the block level to identify hotspots and implement necessary measures to prevent stubble-burning incidents.

The committee will include the SDM/BDO/tehsildar concerned, an Agriculture Development Officer, and an officer from Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, and from the police department. The committee is required to submit a daily report to the Monitoring and Coordination Department by 5 pm.

"I will personally monitor the situation every single day," said the Chief Secretary, emphasising that not a single case of stubble-burning would be tolerated under any circumstances. He said that on the other hand, those officers who performed well in preventing the paddy straw burning will be duly honoured.

The Chief Secretary highlighted the urgent need to raise awareness among farmers about the detrimental effects of burning paddy straw. He directed the deputy commissioners to engage with farmers and inform them about the incentive scheme aimed at encouraging responsible crop residue management. He also stressed the importance of conducting night patrols to monitor and prevent incidents of paddy straw burning.

Prasad reiterated the Haryana government’s unwavering commitment to combating stubble-burning and its harmful effects on air quality and public health. He emphasised that a collaborative approach involving all stakeholders is necessary to address this pressing issue effectively.

It was informed at the meeting that in the ongoing agricultural cycle of 2024, the area under paddy cultivation in Haryana had expanded to 15.73 lakh hectares. This increase has resulted in a significant rise in paddy straw generation, both for basmati and non-basmati varieties.

The basmati paddy straw generation has reached 4.06 million tonnes in 2024. Similarly, non-basmati paddy straw production has risen to 4.04 million tonnes. The combined total of paddy straw generated in Haryana is now 8.1 million tonnes.

To address the environmental impact of paddy straw burning and promote its industrial use, Haryana has concentrated on various ex-situ utilisation methods. For 2024, a total of 2.54 million tonnes of paddy straw has been allocated for industrial usage across different sectors.

The key areas of ex-situ utilisation include industrial boilers and furnaces, which have consumed 1.03 million tonnes of straw, and biomass-based power generation, which has utilised 0.83 million tonnes. Compressed biogas (CBG) plants have also started using paddy straw with an application of 0.1 million tonnes, while 2G bio-ethanol plants have utilised 0.2 million tonnes. Co-firing in thermal power plants (TPPs) accounted for 0.28 million tonnes, and brick kilns and miscellaneous industries used 0.10 million tonnes.