An Inter-Ministerial Meeting to address the issues of Management of Crop Residue Burning has been convened on today under the Co-chairmanship of Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav.  The meeting was attended by the  Ministers of Agriculture of the State of Punjab, Haryana & Uttar Pradesh, Minister for Environment Forest & Wildlife Government of  NCT of Delhi and senior officers of State Governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Senior Officers of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Central Pollution Control Board, Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi and NCR.

The Ministers of the State Governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi informed the actions being taken by them to prevent paddy stubble burning and the various initiatives being implemented to support the farmers to manage the paddy stubbles without burning. The Minister of Government of Haryana informed the incentives being provided by the State to the farmers which include an incentive @ Rs. 1000/- per acre for management of crop residue by making bales,  additional top up of Rs. 500/MT in addition to above in the clusters identified by Indian Oil Corporation Limited for 2G Ethanol plant at Panipat, declaring  common determined Rate of Paddy Straw @ Rs 2500/ MT, transportation charges @ Rs. 500 per acre limited to maximum of Rs. 15000 to Gaushalas for consumption of paddy straw bales, one time grant of Rs. 7000 per acre under Mera Pani Meri Virasat (MPMV) initiative for diversification of paddy to other crops, incentive of Rs. 4000 per acre for Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR).

The burning incidents are reported 35% less in Punjab, 21% less in Haryana this year as compared to last year 2023 of the same time period. Further, the States have been advised to strategically plan and handle the situation by way of deploying all necessary resources by identifying the hotspot districts where the burning incidents may likely to occur in future.

The Government of India under Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Crop Residue Management is already extending financial support to the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to address air pollution in Delhi & National Capital Region due to stubble burning.  During the current year, so far, the funds amounting to Rs. 275.00 Crores have already been released to the States out of total allocation of Rs. 600.00 Crores. The scheme promotes the use of in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management machines through financial assistance to farmers, Cooperative societies, Farmers Producer Organizations and Panchayats. The scheme also focuses on creating mass awareness on stubble management through different States agencies and 3 ATARIs & 60 Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Looking into the advantages of bio-decomposer, provisions have been made under the scheme and the States have been advised to carry out large scale demonstrations of this technology on farmers’ fields.  With a view to enable efficient ex-situ management of paddy straw, provisions have been made  to establish  techno-commercial projects for paddy straw supply chain with a flexibility in financial contribution of beneficiary/ aggregator and Industries utilizing the paddy straw. The Government provides financial assistance @ 65% on the capital cost of machinery costing up to Rs. 1.50 crores and this intervention aims at establishing a robust supply chain of paddy straw for various end user industries in biomass power generation and biofuel sectors.

For effective control of paddy stubble burning during the ensuing season, the States have already developed a comprehensive action plan at micro level and it is high time to ensure effective implementation of these plans. It is also necessary that a suitable mechanism is in place at the State level to ensure effective utilization of more than 3.00 lakh machines already supplied so far. Extensive use of bio-decomposer in a complimentary mode with the CRM machines is also necessary to effectively ensure in-situ decomposition of straw.  IEC activities for mass awareness of farmers through intensive campaigns in the electronic/print media, social media as well as through Kisan Melas, publications, seminars, advisories with the involvement of all stakeholders in this sector should be taken up.  The farmers having small land holdings may be encouraged to take the advantage of Custom Hiring Centres and the States should ensure that these farmers get the machines on rental basis at rates lower than the market rates. The more area may be brought under Crop Diversification Programmes and alternative crop choices may be adopted in place of paddy crop. The burning of any waste like paddy straw, sugarcane trash, industrial waste etc. is increasing the levels of pollution in the Country and more specifically the problem is acute in Delhi leading to human health deterioration. Therefore, collaborative efforts in mission mode may be adopted at State Level to utilize the paddy straw in the farms itself (पराली को खेत में ही खपाओ). If all the actions within the above framework as already requested are taken at the State level in a holistic manner, the stubble burning can be effectively controlled.

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change appreciated the efforts of the State Government in bringing down the cases of paddy stubble burning and advised to work towards mission zero burning.

 *****

SS