Stubble burning: Haryana govt working on plan to buy paddy straw at MSP, says CM Khattar

The Haryana government is working on a plan to buy paddy straw at minimum support price in a bid to find a permanent solution to the issue of stubble burning, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a meeting chaired by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on crop residue management and air pollution control in the Delhi-NCR region.

"Working in the direction of finding a permanent solution for stubble management, the state government is also making a plan to buy paddy straw at MSP. This will directly benefit the farmers along with giving them an option of earning additional income," Khattar said, as per an official statement issued here.

Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the National Capital Region in October and November every year.

Haryana procures 14 crops at MSP, including paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, sunflower and moong.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day after the meeting, Khattar said his government's efforts to stop stubble burning were yielding results and just 81 cases of farm fires had been recorded in the state so far this season.

He also said that use and sale of only green crackers would be allowed in the state to curb pollution ahead of the festive season.

"As far as the firecracker issue is concerned, in the entire state, only green crackers will be allowed. No other firecracker will be allowed. A circular has been issued," Khattar said.

According to the statement, Bhupender Yadav said dedicated efforts of the state government to decrease the stubble burning graph had certainly yielded positive results.

The meeting was held through video-conferencing. Besides Khattar and Yadav, ministers and higher officials of various departments of Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan attended it, the statement said.

"Haryana has also laid special emphasis on reducing the increasing pollution levels as a result of which there has been a drastic reduction in the use of diesel run-generators in housing societies of Gurugram," Yadav added.

During the meeting, Khattar assured Bhupender Yadav that to ensure stubble management in the state, various schemes were being implemented effectively at the ground level.

The chief minister further said the deadline given to brick kilns regarding the use of clean fuel in the Haryana NCR region should be extended till March 31, 2023.

Khattar urged the Union minister to make a provision for a loan facility from banks at a viable rate of interest to the industrialists for setting up the technologies required for the use of clean fuel.

He ensured Yadav that the state government would give more impetus to the efforts already being taken to control air pollution.

Khattar also urged Yadav to ensure CNG-PNG supply in the industrial areas of the Haryana NCR region such as Israna, Samalkha, Gohana, and Jhajjar at the earliest.

To control stubble burning, the Haryana government has implemented a framework which includes in-situ crop residue management, ex-situ management, effective monitoring, enforcement and wide reach of information, education and communication (IEC) activities, the chief minister said.

Under in-situ management, 23 lakh metric tonne crop residue will be utilised through various machines and decomposers, and 13 MT crop residue will be utilised under ex-situ management.

This year, 7,146 machines have been made available to farmers for stubble management, he said.

Khattar said a total of 72,777 machines have been provided to farmers through custom hiring centres and individually for stubble management in the last four years.