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A new “Parali Protection Force” to patrol fields once dark and a common fixed price for paddy straw are among the 19-point steps that Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh must take to fully eliminate stubble burning this year, according to an order issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
In the order issued Friday, the Commission — tasked with formulating air pollution control strategies in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas — also urged the Delhi and Rajasthan governments to make efforts in tackling stubble burning, a key contributor to the annual winter pollution crisis in the Capital.
Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh must map every village farm, tag a nodal officer to no more than 50 farmers, junk outdated crop-residue-management (CRM) machines, and finish new procurement by August. The states must also make the CRM machines rent-free for small and marginal farmers through agricultural facilities, said the Commission.
According to the order, the states need to build an online platform for real-time data on paddy residue generation, create district-level supply-chain plans with storage yards, use straw pellets for co-firing in brick kilns, and pilot a straw-based boiler to supply steam inside industrial units.
The Parali Protection Force — made up of police, agriculture, and civic officers — is to “closely monitor, oversee and guard” against stubble burning incidents. In its order, CAQM called for “intensified patrolling by enforcement agencies during late-evening hours”, as it reasoned that some farmers resort to burning stubble to avoid detection by satellite fire-monitoring systems. Farmers who still burn straw risk “red entries” in their land records and environmental compensation fines.
In April, the Supreme Court directed the constitution of state-level committees in these states to file monthly reports to CAQM, starting from June this year. The committees have been tasked to monitor the implementation of the CAQM directions, which the Commission reiterated in its order.
CAQM action plan
• Mapping of each farm in all villages
• Tagging of special nodal officers to a group of farmers, to cover all in the district
• Comprehensive review of inventories with a “fresh gap analysis” and procurement plan for different machinery types to be conducted this year
• Timely procurement of new CRM machines by August
• Optimal availability of machines, mainly for small, marginal farmers
• Compulsory rent-free CRM machines for such farmers
• Effective use of IT for planning, procurement, machine booking and their utilisation
• i) Optimal use of balers, rakers, among other machines for ex-situ management; ii) Plan machine movement based on harvesting patterns, schedules
• i) Plan for storage facilities; ii) Parcels of government or panchayat lands to be identified for storage of paddy straw bales
• District-level supply chain management
• Fix common procurement price for paddy straw in Punjab & UP
• Set up an online platform for real-time monitoring of crop residue and its utilisation
• Promotion of various government schemes for ex-situ management
• Set up a pilot common paddy straw-based boiler in industrial units
• Use paddy straw pellets for co-firing in brick kiln on line with TPPs
• Set up a dedicated Parali Protection Force
• Intensified patrolling to prevent evasion of satellite monitoring of farm fires
• Help citizens report complaints on social media platforms
• Ensure red entries and impose fines on violating farmers
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