Haryana Fines 12 Farmers for Burning Crop Residue

Chandigarh: Twelve farmers have been fined for burning crop residue in Haryana's Hisar district, an official statement said on Friday.

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has got a case registered against one farmer and recovered Rs 45,000 as fine from 12 farmers for burning crop residue in Hisar, it said.

Burning of crop residue is not allowed in Haryana as it leads to environmental pollution. Last year, 122 cases were registered against those found burning crop residue during the paddy season, the statement said.

The Haryana Space Applications Centre in Haryana's Agricultural University campus in Hisar has been monitoring the entire state through satellite imagery, it said.

If any incident of crop residue burning takes places in any area, it would come to the notice and a team of the Pollution Control Board would get a case registered against the guilty after carrying out physical verification of the area, the statement added.

Haryana's Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Department has been providing different agricultural implements for crop residue management at subsidy of 50 to 80 per cent. Instead of burning the crop residue, the farmers can mix it in the soil to improve fertility, it said. "Burning of crop residue not only causes environmental pollution, but also affect animals, birds and human beings," the statement said.

It said for crop residue management, the farmers can contact the agriculture development officer concerned in their respective districts. Apart from this, the government has also been organising awareness camps on crop residue management, it added.

Another official statement said stubble burning cases have reduced considerably during the current paddy harvesting season in Haryana. Till October 10, the crop had been harvested on 4.01 lakh hectares and there had been arrival of 20 lakh tonnes of paddy in various mandis (marketing places) of the state, it said.

"As per satellite data furnished by the HARSAC, there had been burning of paddy stubble only at 459 places involving an area of 735 hectares. This was less than one per cent of the total area where harvesting had taken place," the statement said. "These positive results were the outcome of the massive information and education campaign undertaken by the various government agencies," it added.