Stubble burning : 147 villages in red zone, 582 in yellow

Parveen Arora

Karnal, September 21

On the basis of the active fire locations (AFLs) detected by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) in 2022, the Agriculture Department has identified and categorised 147 villages in the red zone and 582 in the yellow zone.

Villages with six or more AFLs have been placed in the red category, while villages with AFL between two and five are in the yellow category, said an official.

Of 147 villages in the red zone, 49 villages are in Fatehabad, followed by Kaithal (36), Jind (24), Sirsa (11), Karnal (10), Kurukshetra (6), Hisar (3), Ambala (2), Palwal (2), Rohtak (2) and one each in Panipat and Sonepat. As per data, Kaithal district leads the tally in the yellow zone, with 107 villages, followed by Fatehabad (74), Jind (72), Kurukshetra (65), Karnal (54), Sirsa (56), Ambala (45), Yamunanagar (30), Hisar (22), Sonepat (16), Panipat (18), Rohtak (13), Palwal (9) and Bhiwani (1).

The state, however, has witnessed a fall of around 50 per cent in stubble-burning cases in 2022 as compared to 2021 due to the concerted efforts of various departments. In 2022, Haryana recorded 3,661 cases of stubble-burning, while 6,987 cases were reported in 2021.

The maximum cases of farm fires were recorded in the following districts last year: Fatehabad (767), Kaithal (641), Jind (533), Sirsa (305), Kurukshetra (302), Karnal (301), Ambala (226), Yamunanagar (155) and Hisar (115). Special measures are now being taken to check the burning of crop residue, said a senior official. The department was working on micro-level monitoring by promoting in-situ and ex-situ management systems among farmers and an incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre was being offered, he added.

Deputy Commissioners have been asked to set up committees at the village, block, sub-division and district level to monitor and control the cases of stubble-burning. The government will give incentives to villages trying to make the shift.

“An incentive of Rs 1 lakh will be given to panchayats for improving the category from red to green, and Rs 50,000 for converting the category from yellow to green,” said Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Karnal.

Karnal DC Anish Yadav had already constituted committees and directions had been given to various departments to make coordinate efforts to reduce the number to zero, the DDA said.