Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Saturday said the incidents of stubble burning have reduced by over 51 per cent compared to 2017. Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting on stubble burning, one of the key contributors to air pollution in Delhi, Chouhan said the incidents of stubble burning dropped by 35 per cent in Punjab and 21 per cent in Haryana compared to last year. Overall, stubble-burning incidents have reduced by 51% compared to 2017, the minister said, adding that there is a need to keep constant attention. The meeting, held virtually, was attended by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Chaudhary, and ministers and officials from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. Chouhan said that during the meeting, the states’ representatives said that they were continuously monitoring the situation and that they were following the instructions of the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had pulled up Punjab and Haryana for not stopping stubble burning, and the Centre for making the Environment Protection Act “toothless”, amid worsening air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). “A mass awareness campaign against stubble burning is underway. The Union and state governments concerned will take steps to run the campaign more effectively,” Chouhan said. The Union government gave more than 3 lakh machines on subsidy last year for stubble management, he said. The agriculture minister said that the government will try to promote bio-decomposer in a mission mode. Chouhan said bursting of firecrackers in huge numbers during festivals has a huge impact on the environment. Steps to reduce the practice was also discussed in the meeting.
