Karnal, November 12 (Praveen Walia):- The district administration and Agriculture Department are taking strict action against farmers burning paddy crop residue.
Deputy Commissioner Dr. Anand Kumar Sharma has issued strict directions and warned that farmers setting fire to crop residue will face action as per rules, including registration of FIRs, imposition of fines and recording of red entries on the Meri Fasal-Mera Byora portal. To prevent incidents of stubble burning, committees and enforcement teams have been constituted at the district, block/tehsil and village levels. Around 683 officers and employees have been assigned duties in these teams. They are keeping continuous watch and taking action as per the rules.
Deputy Director of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, Jaswinder Singh, said that so far, 22 cases of stubble burning in Karnal district had been reported by HARSAC Haryana. Of these, FIRs have been registered against 10 farmers. Fines have also been recovered from all 10 farmers as per the rules, and red entries have been recorded on the Meri Fasal-Mera Byora portal. As a result, the concerned farmers will not be able to sell their crops at MSP for the next two years.
He said that, as per the rules, a fine of Rs 5,000 per incident is prescribed for stubble burning on land measuring less than two acres, Rs 10,000 for land measuring between two and five acres, and Rs 30,000 for land measuring more than five acres. These cases are from the Gharaunda, Nilokheri, Assandh and Nissing blocks. No case of stubble burning has been reported so far in the Karnal and Indri blocks.
The Deputy Director stated that FIRs in stubble-burning cases have been registered at the concerned police stations against the farmers under Section 39 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
He appealed to farmers to use agricultural machinery for crop residue management. Under the Crop Residue Management Scheme, farmers in Karnal district have been provided a 50 per cent subsidy on 519 agricultural machines this year. These include Super SMS, baling machines, Happy Seeders, rotary slashers/shrub masters, paddy straw choppers/mulchers, hydraulic reversible MB ploughs, zero-till drills, Super Seeders, surface seeders, tractor-operated/self-propelled crop reapers, reaper-cum-binders, loaders and tandem machines.
With the help of these agricultural machines, farmers can properly manage crop residue through both ex-situ and in-situ methods. This will eliminate the need to burn stubble, help preserve soil fertility and reduce air pollution. Farmers are also being provided an incentive of Rs 1,200 per acre for stubble management.
The Deputy Director urged farmers to refrain from setting fire to stubble and manage crop residue properly with the help of agricultural machinery. For more information regarding crop residue management, farmers can contact the office of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department in Karnal.
The Karnal District Administration and Agriculture Department have clarified that monitoring and action will continue to prevent incidents of stubble burning.
