Haryana government’s vigilant stance on Air Quality: stringent measures to curb paddy straw burning
Chandigarh,
November 3
Cracking down on stubble burning offenders, authorities in Haryana have challaned 939 such violators, imposing fines exceeding Rs 25.12 Lakh by October 31, year.
This has been conveyed by the state Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal during a virtual review meeting chaired by Dr MM Kutty, Chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR, with Deputy Commissioners participated virtually.
Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said that the state government is highly vigilant about the Air Quality Index and has implemented stringent measures to further reduce paddy straw burning.
He informed about 38 percent reduction in stubble burning incidents in 2023 compared to the previous year. In 2022, the state recorded a total of 2,083 cases of stubble burning, which decreased to 1,296 cases in 2023, marking a 38 percent reduction compared to 2022. When compared to 2021, straw burning incidents saw a substantial 57 percent reduction in 2023.
An official spokesperson said that Dr Kutty commended the Deputy Commissioners of Karnal and Kaithal for achieving over a 60 percent reduction in farm fires compared to the previous year.
He acknowledged Haryana’s success in controlling farm fires but stressed the importance of close monitoring and stringent measures during the upcoming festival season to improve the air quality index.
During the meeting, Kaushal emphasized that the government is taking strict monitoring and enforcement measures to check farm fires, including real-time reporting of burning events by HARSAC and the deployment of district or block-level enforcement teams and flying squads. Village and block-level nodal officers have also been appointed to prevent crop residue burning.
Moreover, the government is taking stringent actions against those responsible for farm fires, having imposed 939 challans with fines totaling over Rs 25.12 lakh by October 31. Officers responsible for farm fires have been called to explain their actions and also suspended the erring officials.