We did start the fire, but no choice: Two states’ farmers
While farmers understand the impact of setting fire to their farmland, they claim they don’t have access to machines that can help them dispose of stubble in an eco-friendly way; experts call for effective interventions
AMRITSAR/TARN TARAN/KARNAL/KURUKSHETRA/FATEHABAD: In Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, 67-year-old Gurnam Singh stepped onto his two-acre field that had tufts of dry shoots, remnants of the paddy (rice crop) that he had harvested earlier in the month.
It was nearing midday and the morning dew had evaporated.
“It’s already a bit late. I have to sow wheat now to harvest in April,” said Singh as he set his field on fire.
The green and gold fields ripe for harvest on either side of the national highway-54 that bordered Singh’s field was turning black from the soot.
Singh’s field is one that he took on rent to grow his crops. He spends almost ₹1 lakh a year to earn just ₹20,000 in profits a year.
He knew there was a ban on burning the crop residue. He knew too that the government had subsidised equipment to help farmers deal with the stubble without burning them.
“I had applied for the equipment in September that the government said would help clear the stubble,” he said. “I was asked to come back a few days later as the machine was already rented by another farmer. But when I did, I got the same response: ‘come back in a few days, another farmer has it’. I couldn’t go on like this. I can’t delay sowing the next crop. Hence, I had to put this fire.”
“Only those with some clout and owning big farms were able to get the machine first,” said Singh.
The machine he is talking about has two parts: the Straw Management System (SMS) that levels the field by flattening the stubble shoots, and the “Happy Seeder” that sows wheat into the soil.
In the market, the two systems cost over ₹6 lakh.
To promote the machines and alleviate the burden on the farmers, the Centre had provided ₹1,151.80 crore to farmers in Haryana, Punjab, UP and Rajasthan under a centrally sponsored scheme, the Agricultural Mechanisation for in-situ Management of Crop Residues.
The scheme allows individual farmers 50% subsidy and farmers’ cooperatives, self-help groups, registered societies and other entrepreneurs looking to set up a custom hiring centres (CHC) 80% subsidy on the purchase of these machines.
Rattan Singh Mann, from Haryana’s Bharatiya Kisan Union (BHU), said farmers can rent the Happy Seeder and the SMS at a cost of ₹3,400 per acre. “If there is a cheap and effective alternative to burning stubble why will farmers not adopt that? The problem is that the subsidies are not reaching small farmers,” Mann said.
Most other farmers in villages across Punjab and Haryana, that Hindustan Times spoke to, said the machines to remove the stubble were accessible only to a group of “well-off”.
Harcharan Singh, who owns an acre in Shivpuri Village, talks about another problem: the Happy Seeders require tall tractors to be mounted on.
“Most farmers like me don’t own such tractors. Hiring them will eat up into our profits,” Singh said. “Farming itself is a dying profession. We don’t get the desired return for our hard work. Setting the field on fire is the easiest and cheapest option for us. And why is the government after poor farmers, what about the polluting vehicles and the industrial fumes?”
Rasal Singh, 45, of Baila Manjpur village in Amritsar, said, “The rent for the Happy Seeder is around ₹3,400 per acre. I have only two acres. After all the toil and expenses I’m able to save only around ₹3,000 -4,000. I can’t afford to hire the equipment.”
A senior official from the Punjab agricultural department said, “We have formed cooperatives and asked village heads to ensure everyone gets the machine. One set of equipment is given per cooperative. Also, we keep organising awareness programmes, but it will take some time for things to change. There are many who have stopped the stubble burning practice altogether.”
So, without the equipment, farmers have no choice but to resort to burning the stubble.
PUNJAB
In Punjab, between September 25 and October 17 this year, there were 1,631 incidents of crop stubble burning in comparison to 1,198 between September 25 and October 17 in 2018, according to data from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). Tarn Taran, along with Amritsar and Patiala, account for the highest number of crop residue burning incidents this year in Punjab, according to officials from PPCB.
The dates vary every year for satellite monitoring, which depend on the harvest of paddy varieties. This year, some of the Basmati varieties were sown earlier and hence the early harvest.
“At present, it seems there is a spurt in the number of paddy stubble burning cases in the Majha region comprising districts such as Amritsar and Tarn Taran, which have so far reported highest incidents of burning. But the peak harvest season between October 15 and November 1 is yet to be seen to assess the trend and draw any comparison with past years,” said a senior PPCB official on the condition of anonymity.
HARYANA
The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) noted that this year, there has been a spike in number of cases of crop stubble burning.
Satellite monitoring showed that between September 25 and October 17, 1,571 such cases were spotted.
Last year, 1,346 crop residue burning instances were reported in the same period.
S Narayanan, member secretary, Haryana SPCB said that Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Jind districts are on top of the list in crop stubble burning cases.
“We have been monitoring the farmlands very closely. It is also important to note that even though the numbers are higher, the burnt area has reduced. Even last year, there was a 25% reduction in burnt area,” he said.
Officials from the Haryana government said that the situation was likely to deteriorate in the coming days. Only 82 FIRs had been registered against erring farmers till October 17. This has been attributed to some extent to the recently concluded election season in the state.
“There is definitely the case that the government officials as well as the police were busy with election duties, but there is also political pressure. Farmers account for a large vote share here. Stubble burning cases are likely to get worse towards the end of October,” said a senior Haryana government official, requesting anonymity.
Sohanlal, a farmer from Assandh Village in Haryana, said that compared to last year, inspections on the ground were less visible.
“Last year, the inspections were very strict. Many farmers from this area were fined between ₹3,000 to ₹15,000 for burning stubble in their fields. This time, there seems to be some leniency. That could also be because the harvest season has just begun. The people who have to find a way to get things done, they do,” he said.
HOW IT AFFECTS DELHI
Smoke from the burning of biomass in Punjab and Haryana has been known to contribute to a spike in pollution levels in Delhi during this time of the year, as winds blow from the northwest. That and the near absence of any surface winds results in trapping the fine particulate matter within the highly urbanised capital city.
According to an analysis by a team of scientists at IIT-Delhi’s Centre of Excellence for Research on Clean Air (CERCA), at least 10 districts of Punjab and five of Haryana contribute 62% of the total stubble burning emissions, which reach Delhi depending on the meteorological conditions.
“The districts in Punjab contribute around 44% of total residue burning emissions while those in Haryana account for approximately 17%,” said the analysis presented by Sagnik Dey, associate professor, of IIT-Delhi’s Centre for Atmospheric Sciences during a recent conference.
The analysis is based on satellite data, latest emission inventory and available scientific knowledge.
“Also, we have identified top 500 villages each in Punjab and Haryana based on the data in 2017 and 2018 to facilitate action on ground,” said Dey.
“It is recommended to prioritise technological and other resources in these districts and particularly the villages to curtail stubble burning emissions in this upcoming season in 2019 rather than uniformly distributing resources in all the districts.”
Prioritising action in these regions would lead to maximum benefit in terms of reduction in the contribution of stubble burning to air pollution level in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, the analysis said.
Pollution in winter in Delhi comes in two episodes —the first peak between October and November and the second episode is between December and January. Even without crop burning, the pollution levels during the two episodes is alarmingly high because of local emissions.
The analysis shows that the difference in PM2.5 during the first pollution episode in Delhi increases with a rise in peak fire count in the upwind regions of Haryana and Punjab.
“This implies that larger is the fire count (i.e. higher open burning), larger is the first pollution episode in Delhi because the only major difference in the factors between the first and second episodes is the contribution of open burning of the crop stubble in Punjab and Haryana,” said Dey, adding “Over the past week NASA images have shown, Amritsar has been the top district in terms of crop burning.”
HOW IT AFFECTS FARMERS
Farmers said they are not able to sell paddy on the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹1,835 per quintal (100 kg) fixed by the government.
“We are suffering losses on the produce itself. There are so many brokers and middlemen, who either reject the produce on some ground or the other and we are forced to sell it for around ₹1,300-₹1,400, much below the MSP. If we don’t sell, it will go waste. We lose out on at least ₹400 per quintal; in which case it’s just not possible to spend another few thousands on hiring farm equipment,” said Harpal Singh, who owns four acres in the same village.
Others said that even when they go to the custom hiring centres (CHC) that provides the equipment on subsidised rent, most times they are turned away citing there were no drivers to run the tractor to which the machines are attached.
Experts said that while enforcement is an important part of controlling incidents of crop burning, effective solutions will only come if steps are taken to ensure disbursement of subsidies for the purchase of the Happy Seeders and the SMS.
OTHER ALTERNATIVES
Senior officials of the agriculture department in the Haryana government explained that an alternative to control increasing cases of crop residue is to adopt paddy varieties that will allow for earlier harvest. This in turn will allow farmers more time to prepare for the sowing of wheat crop.
Short duration paddy takes around 120 to 130 days to mature and the yield is also higher than the long duration varieties that take 155 to 160 days. The short duration paddy can be harvested in first week of October, giving farmers 25 to 30 days to manage the paddy stubble.
R S Randhawa, general secretary, Border Area Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, said the problem will persist unless farmers are given monetary benefits by bringing in industries to buy the stubble from them such as paper mills for making pulp, for generating electricity and other such alternatives.
We have identified top 500 villages each in Punjab and Haryana based on data in 2017 and 2018 ... It is recommended to prioritise technological and other resources in these districts ... rather than uniformly distributing resources in all districts.
SAGNIK DEY, asst prof, IIT Delhi
We have been monitoring the farmlands very closely. It is also important to note that even though the numbers are higher, the burnt area has reduced. Even last year, there was a 25% reduction in burnt area.
S NARAYANAN, member secretary, HSPCB
Farming itself is a dying profession. We don’t get the desired return for our hard work. Setting the field on fire is the easiest and cheapest option for us. And why is the government after poor farmers, what about the polluting vehicles and the industrial fumes?
HARCHARAN SINGH, farmer from Shivpuri village in Haryana