Haryana’s Agriculture Department to file an FIR against the farmers who burn stubble and impose “red entries” in their records, restricting crop sales through the e-Kharid portal for two seasons, to check poor air quality.
In a tight measure aimed at curbing the menace of stubble burning, the Haryana Department of Agriculture has said it would file an FIR against farmers who create such nuisance. It also wants to create a “red entry” in the records of their farm, which would act as a deterrent from selling their produce through the e-Kharid portal for two seasons in a row.
The order, issued on October 17, 2024, has come as a response to the mounting concerns of air quality and environmental degradation arriving with crop residue burning. The directive included the clause of considering all the guilty farmers accused of burning paddy crop residue after September 15, 2024, under relevant laws. This measure is in the wake of a report submitted to the Commission for Air Quality Management indicating that till October 14, red entries had already been handed over against the names of 232 farmers.
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On October 14, the Deputy Commissioners of other districts were met, which reminds the new measures with repetition. During the same meeting, the Haryana Agriculture Department presented reports of fire related to stubble burning amounting to 468 in the period between September 15 and October 13. A ground verification found issues in cases since 173 had no fires spotted while four fires occurred either on non-agricultural land or because of garbage.
To check the menace of stubble burning, the Haryana government has engaged 3,224 nodal officers. The farmers were also furnished with Crop Residue Management equipment on subsidized prices from the outset of the 2018-19 agriculture season. Besides, there is an incentive worth Rs 1,000/acre for the use of CRM equipment and another Rs 500/acre for transporting paddy crop residue to cowsheds.
The measures by the Agriculture Department will reduce stubble burning to a great extent and ensure sustainable farming along with good air quality in that region.
