Haryana to launch special campaign to prevent farm fires

THE GOVT HAS DECIDED TO KEEP A STRICT VIGIL ON VILLAGES WHICH ARE NOTORIOUS FOR THE BURNING OF CROP RESIDUE

KARNAL: In order to bring down the incidents of farm fires in the coming kharif harvesting season (beginning in October), the Haryana government will conduct a special awareness drive for farmers to apprise them of the adverse impacts of burning paddy residue.

The officials working on the plan said the government has decided to keep a strict vigil, especially on villages which are notorious for the burning of crop residue. A local-level committee will be formed to keep an eye on the erring farmers so that immediate action can be taken, they added.

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) had shared details of villages having maximum cases of active fire locations with the district administrations concerned.

“Last year, we had identified villages with maximum cases of stubble burning and this time also, we are planning to identity at least 30 hot villages in every paddy sowing district for a focused approach,” said HSPCB member secretary S Narayanan.

Officials from agriculture, revenue, pollution control board, and development and panchayats department will initiate a drive in these villages to make farmers aware of the adverse impacts of burning of paddy residue.

“Last year, we observed a significant reduction in farm fires as compared to the previous years’ data as we had adopted the strategy of identifying top burning’ villages in every district based on the active fire locations identified in the previous season,” Narayanan said.

Sanjeev Kaushal, additional chief secretary, agriculture and farmers’ welfare department, said, “This year we will divide the villages in red, orange and green zones. There will be a special focus on red zones..”