To manage paddy stubble, Punjab lines up 1.37 lakh machines — one per 24 hectares

However, history shows that more machines does not necessarily translate into a significant reduction in stubble burning. Last year, when Punjab had around 1,17,672 (1.17 lakh) CRM machines, stubble burning incidents were recorded on approximately 15,42,750 (15.42 lakh) hectares until November 30, according to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) in Ludhiana. This is in contrast to 2021 when stubble burning took place on 15,64,470 (15.64 lakh) hectares when state had 90,422 machines. In other words, Punjab recorded 30 per cent more machines in 2022 compared to 2021, but the area where stubble was set on fire went down by just 1.4 per cent.

A senior government official had earlier said a Rs 350-crore action plan is in place for the 2023 Kharif season to check stubble burning incidents. “The Union government will contribute Rs 210 crore while the state government will put in Rs 140 crore,” Punjab Agriculture Director Gurwinder Singh had said.

The action plan includes targeting zero-stubble burning incidents in seven districts – Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Mohali, SBS Nagar and Malerkotla and 50 per cent reduction in stubble fire cases in Patiala, Sangrur, Faridkot and Muktsar districts.

Since the launch of a scheme for the promotion of agricultural mechanization for crop residue management in 2018, Punjab has been distributing machines such as super seeder, smart seeder, happy seeder, paddy straw chopper, shredder, mulcher, hydraulic reversible mould board plough and zero till drill for in-situ management and balers for in ex-situ management on subsidy. Individual farmers can avail 50 per cent subsidy while cooperative societies and custom hiring centres can avail 80 per cent subsidy for straw management machinery.

Experts, however, argue that alongside machinery, it is also crucial to change the mindset of farmers who still prefer putting fire to the crop residue instead of going for its management. They recommend focusing on eight to nine districts out of the total 23 that are more vulnerable and contribute to around 80 per cent of the stubble burning.

These vulnerable districts include Sangrur, where stubble burning affected 73 per cent of its total rice area last year, an increase of 11 per cent from 2021. Ferozepur recorded stubble fires in 69 per cent area (against 67.62 per cent in 2021), Faridkot 66 per cent (62.53 per cent in 2021), Fatehgarh Sahib 62.7 per cent (50.34 per cent in 2021), Muktsar Sahib 61 per cent (40.72 per cent in 2021), Bathinda 59 per cent (44.84 per cent in 2021), Mansa 58.8 per cent (43.33 per cent in 2021), Moga 56.4 per cent (54.18 per cent in 2021), and Fazilka 45 per cent (32.96 per cent in 2021). All these districts, falling in the Majha region, recorded an increase in burnt area in 2022.

In the 2022 Kharif season, Punjab had registered a 30 per cent drop in stubble-burning incidents to 49,922 from 71,159 (until November 30) in 2021.

Meanwhile, eight districts in Majha and Doaba regions have not only recorded a reduction in number of fire incidents in 2022 compared to 2021 but also a decrease in the burnt area.

In Doaba’s Jalandhar, 1,388 farm fires were recorded in 2022 against 2,548 in 2021. Hoshiarpur recorded 259 fires against 331 in 2021; Nawanshahr 270 against 356 in 2021; and Kapurthala recorded 1,279 fires against 1,797 in 2021.

There was a decrease in burnt area by 24 per cent, 29 per cent, 39 per cent, and 38 per cent in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, and Nawanshahr, respectively, compared to 2021.

In the Majha region, Amritsar recorded 1,545 fires against 2,171 in 2021; Tarn Taran 3,184 against 4,103; Gurdaspur 854 against 1,395, and Pathankot recorded one fire against six in 2021.

The burnt area in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, and Pathankot recorded a decrease of 22 per cent, 33 per cent, 21 per cent, and 34 per cent, respectively compared to 2021.

This year, the government plans to establish 1,000 new Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) to further support CRM efforts. Punjab produces over 20 million tonne of paddy straw every year and of which 12 million tonne was being managed through in-situ and ex-situ management methods. This year, the government has set a target of managing around 15 million tonnes of stubble, including 11.50 million tonnes through ex-situ management and 3.54 million tonnes through in-situ management.

In-situ management involves incorporating stubble into the soil using CRM machines, while ex-situ management involves lifting stubble from fields and supplying it to stubble-based industries.