Why has the ban on stubble burning gone up in smoke
Post-diwali, sudden spike in cases has raised a question mark over govt efforts
PATIALA: On Friday, the sun didn’t shine over Punjab for the second consecutive day, eclipsed as it was by a thick blanket of a toxic smog created by unabated paddy stubble fires across the state. Such was level of air pollution that even the satellite imageries could not record the fire incidents, particularly in the worstaffected southern districts.
Post-diwali, a sudden spike in stubble burning has raised questions on the efficacy of a raft of steps taken by the state government to curb the menace. As many as 17,672 farm fires — almost 80% of this season so far — have been recorded in last week. “Officers from deputy commissioner to peon are working to stop farm fires, but there is no political support,” says an exasperated senior IAS official, who requested anonymity. “Not a single MLA of any party has opposed stubble burning. Everyone is trying to defend Punjab, saying the state is not responsible for Delhi smog, but what about the smog in Punjab? Do you think the Punjabis are not suffering?”
HT looks at five reasons why the stubble burning ban has failed to produce results:
FARMERS BLAME LATE HARVESTING
The farmers blame delayed paddy harvesting as the reason behind paddy straw burning. That left them with a very little time window between harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat. “We have to sow wheat before November 15. Since handling paddy straw is tedious process, burning it is an easier option to clear the fields for the next crop,” says Mukhtiar Singh, a farmer in Patiala.
However, the agricultural department doesn’t buy into this argument, saying the wheat can be sown till end of November.
TARDY IMPLEMENTATION OF CENTRAL SCHEME
Under an ambitious scheme, funded by the central government, Punjab had set a target of distributing 19,000 subsidised machines to farmers for in-situ management of stubble. But due to late tendering, it managed to provide only half of that before harvesting. Non-availability of machines to small farmers left them with little option but to resort to stubble burning.
“I have 2.5 acres of land, and I can’t afford a tractor or machine. If the government is serious, it should come with a bailer and clear my field, otherwise I will clear it by using fire,” said Harjinder Singh of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan). In fact, farmers insist that machines are available at much cheaper price in the market as compared to the subsidised machinery. “Why no direct subsidy to farmers if government is serious about controlling paddy?” asks Gurmej Singh, a farmer leader.
SOFT GOVERNMENT, DEFIANT FARMERS
Even as a sizable section of farmers have got access to subsidised machines, some of peasants’ unions have been openly exhorting farmers to defy the ban against stubble burning to pres
sure the government to meet their demand for a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal as an incentive for not burning stubble.some farmer unions are even confronting the officials making surprise checks in the fields and imposing fines on farmers found burning stubble. Jagtar Singh, a leader of BKU (Ugrahan), says, “Farmers are already under financial stress. It is the duty of government to pay at least Rs100 per quintal as charges of handling paddy straw.”
What has complicated the matter is the government’s soft approach on cracking the whip against farmers who form an influential vote bank. This led to a lax enforcement against defaulters. By the time the government was woken up by the pollution outcry in national capital and officials started taking action against errant farmers , it was too late.
HC DIRECTIONS ON NOT RECOVERING FINES
Even before harvesting season, a major blow to campaign against stubble burning came last month when the high court stayed the recovery of fines imposed on farmers earlier. But, farmer unions misinterpreted HC directive as a restraint order on the state government for slapping any penalty on farmers for stubble burning. “Prior to the HC order, there were minimal
farm fires, but farmer leaders spread misinformation which led to a large scale violation of the ban,” said an official.
NON-OPERATIONAL BIOMASS UNITS
Punjab Energy Development Agency had floated tenders for 150 MW biomass plants, which could have handled at least 50 lakh MT of paddy straw. However, despite getting bids, no one came forward as PSPCL is not signing power purchase agreement on tariffs decided by the state power regulator. Due to low tariff, the bidders are not investing in biomass plants, as a 10 MW plant needs ₹00-crore investment. Even the two existing biomass plants in the state are non-functional.
BATHINDA : The Malwa region of Punjab is reeling under smog with seven districts of the region accounting for 39% of farm fires in the state.
Visibility on the national highway-7 (Bathinda-patiala) and other state roads in the region remained poor for the second consecutive day on Friday as smoke emitted from rice fields where paddy stubble has been set on fire. Students were seen wearing masks to protect themselves from polluted air in the area.
According to the official data of the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), a total of 2,268 incidents of paddy stubble burning were recorded in all 22 districts on October 31 and 1,104 of these cases were reported from the districts of Bathinda, Ferozepur, Mansa, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar and Moga.
Official data shows that between September 23 and October 31, a total of 22,137 farm fires were recorded across the state. The seven districts of Malwa contributed