CHANDIGARH: Admitting that a surge in stubble burning incidents occurred due to the shorter window of 15 to 20 days between harvesting and sowing of wheat crops.
The Punjab Government's Agriculture Department informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) about its measures to address the issue.
Over 6.2 million tonnes of paddy straw were managed through ex-situ methods this year, contributing to the expected management of 19.52 million tonnes of paddy straw through various means in 2024.
In a report submitted to the NGT on 26 November, the Director of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Punjab, stated: “As a result of the efforts made by the state of Punjab, the number of paddy stubble burning incidents reduced from 36,551 on 25 November 2023, to 10,479 on 25 November 2024, a decrease of 70 per cent.”
The report highlighted the dual approach to managing paddy straw, which includes in-situ (on-field) and ex-situ (transportation for industrial and other uses) methods.
Residue is also being utilised as animal fodder. For ex-situ management, over 6.2 million tonnes of paddy straw were handled in 2024.
“The department will carry out a gap analysis after the season is over to figure out the requirement of in-situ and ex-situ machinery for the year 2025. The annual action plan for 2025 will be prepared based on this gap analysis, and the requisite funds will be requested. In ex-situ management, primarily balers are used for the collection of straw before transportation for industrial and other uses. As per the demand from farmers, till date, 2,183 different types of balers and 2,039 rakes have been made available on subsidy under the crop residue management (CRM) scheme,” the report stated.
Since the inception of the CRM scheme in 2018-19, 1,46,540 crop residue machines have been provided on subsidy, including 61,951 super-seeders. However, the report noted challenges related to the limited availability of machinery during the critical 15 to 20-day period for wheat sowing.
“Although the number of machines is sufficient to cover the area under paddy, the demand for machines during this short window creates logistical constraints. Additionally, the machines have a limited useful life, and some are discarded annually due to wear and tear,” the report added.
As per data from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space, 446 stubble burning cases were detected in six states on 28 November.
The breakdown is as follows: Madhya Pradesh (282), Uttar Pradesh (103), Punjab (34), Rajasthan (20), Haryana (7), and Delhi (none). Between 15 September and 28 November, a total of 36,317 burning incidents were recorded across these states, with the highest numbers in Madhya Pradesh (15,763), followed by Punjab (10,855), Uttar Pradesh (5,554), Rajasthan (2,753), Haryana (1,380), and Delhi (12).
Punjab's Agriculture Department remains committed to addressing stubble burning through continuous monitoring, the provision of subsidised machinery, and future action plans to meet farmers’ needs while mitigating environmental impacts.