india

Updated: Nov 04, 2019 02:20 IST

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that his government has intensified a drive against stubble burning in the state as air pollution in northern India reached the worst levels this year days after authorities in Delhi declared a public health emergency.

He added that steps like these are not sufficient to check the problem as the majority of farmers in Punjab have less than five acres of land, making it economically unviable for them to go for hi-end ways of managing stubble.

Singh said that the number of farm fire incidents reported this year as a result of the drive have gone down to 20,729 from 49,000 in 2018. “Action has been initiated against 2,923 farmers for stubble burning till November 1 [Friday], which marks a 10-20% decline in the number of such cases this year as against 2018,” Singh said in a statement.

Government environment monitoring agency SAFAR has cited satellite pictures and said over 3,000 incidents of stubble burning were last week reported in Delhi’s neighbouring states and contributed to 44% of the city’s pollution.

Singh said that the process of verifying the remaining fire incidents and levying environmental compensation is being expedited. He added that the Punjab Pollution Control Board has also imposed environmental compensation of ~62 lakh on 31 combine harvesters operating without super straw management system that is an alternative to residue burning in fields.

He hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will respond positively to his letter on the issue of worsening air pollution in Delhi while saying his government is fully seized of the problem and working to put an end to stubble burning.

Singh said that the Centre’s compensation to prevent farmers from stubble burning is the only solution in these circumstances. He added that the ball was now in the Centre’s court since most state governments were bankrupt.