THE BURNING ISSUE OF CROP RESIDUE

What’s the matter

Punjab annually produces nearly 20 million tonnes of paddy straw, and farmers burn this residue to next sow wheat. This leads to pollution locally, and smog as far as DelhiNCR, over which the National Green Tribunal last year grilled the Punjab government and also banned the burning. The state had already banned the practice in 2013, but strictly enforced it only last year, after the tribunal pulled up Punjab and Haryana.

What farmers want

Punjab’s farmers are seeking a bonus of Rs 300 per quintal over the crop price for not burning paddy stubble, besides subsidy on machines such as paddy seeders and shredders that can provide alternatives to burning. They say disposing of the straw in an environment-friendly manner would mean additional expenditure of ~6,000 per acre, asking the government to adequately compensate them.

What the govt says

The fund-starved state has thrown the ball in the Centre’s court, asking it to give compensation to farmers at ~100 per quintal for straw management. CM Capt Amarinder Singh met Union agriculture minister on Tuesday again. Besides monitoring the burning via remote sensing, the pollution board has told staff to keep a tab. Another decision is to make a red entry in the girdawari (land record) register of farmers indulging in burning.