Thinking Point
VN Garg
The writer is former chairperson, UP Forest Corporation; former principal secretary, forest & environment; former chairman, UP Pollution Control Board, and former Honorary Secretary, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), UP Regional Branch Burning Agricultural Residues and Environment
With each passing year, the Chairman of the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) says that the air quality in Delhi and NCR has deteriorated progressively and is at the severe plus level. Construction activities, hot mix plants, and stone crushers in Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Greater Noida are told to stay closed during the night. Schools are ordered to be closed in Delhi. The Authority calls it a public health emergency because of its adverse health impacts on all, particularly children, the elderly, and the ill. A part of this pollution and smog is certainly because of stubble burning.
Around 23 million tonnes of agricultural residue is burnt by farmers in Northern India in paddy fields every October and November, to clear the field for wheat sowing. The crop residues are subjected to open burning on account of the narrow window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing, high labour wages, and the anxiety of farmers to get the crop produce collected and marketed at the earliest.
The practice of stubble burning increases the concentration of particulate matter in the air to 1000 micrograms per cubic metre while the safety limit is 50 micrograms. This creates a kind of medical emergency. This burning pollutes the air and creates smog. In addition to aerosol particles, this is considered a major source of carbon dioxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, and halogen compounds. Every year in October- November, the problem of air pollution is acute in and around Delhi, threatening the health of infants and senior citizens. About 25-30 percent of air pollution in Delhi-NCR is caused by stubble burning in October and November every year. Burning also leads to the ground temperature rising and the soil drying up, necessitating additional water for irrigation. Livestock too is impacted by crop burning. It has been found that milk production falls up to 50 % during the two months.
In UP, 15 cities Lucknow, Agra, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Khurja, Firozabad, Anpara, Gajraula, Jhansi, Moradabad, Rai Bareilly, and Bareilly are among the severely polluted areas of the country. Due to stubble burning, the problem of pollution in these towns and nearby areas is becoming even more severe.
State of Uttar Pradesh vide its notification dated 3rd November 2000 had declared the entire State of Uttar Pradesh as an Air pollution Control Area under Section 19(1) of the Air Act. The States of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have also drawn up action plans under the directions of the National Green Tribunal as well as the National Policy for Management of Crop Residues. These states have also prohibited the burning of crop residues by issuing notifications.
American Space Agency NASA has released its pictures. According to these pictures, even after Dussehra, stubble was being burnt in Punjab, Haryana, and the areas adjoining these places. The Delhi government has also shared these pictures. As a result, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded as bad and a fall in the quality of air was recorded. In areas adjoining Delhi like Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, and Loni rural, AQI was recorded as above 300. This situation prevails every year in November Though many steps have been taken to discourage this process, every year this becomes a headache for Delhi and nearby states.
The government of India has drawn the ‘National Policy for Management of Crop Residues (NPMCR) -2014’ as amended from time to time, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare. This envisages the adoption of technical measures including diversified uses of crop residues, capacity building, and training along with formulation of suitable law/ legislation. It has also advised ensuring that agricultural residues are put to alternative uses for energy generation, producing ethanol, paper, packaging material, etc., to the benefit of the farmer’s community as well as to protect the environment. Monitoring mechanisms have evolved with the help of ISRO, the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), and State Remote Sensing Agencies. Under the advisory issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, a corrective approach rather than a coercive one is to be used and awareness should be raised regarding that.
The Centre had in 2018 launched a Rs. 1150 crore scheme to support farmers for machinery, capacity development, knowledge sharing, and awareness creation. The Centre is giving up to 8 5 subsidies on the purchase of machines like Super SMS, Happy Seeder, Paddy Straw Chopper, and zero till drill used for residue management. Those farmers who don’t want to buy these machines can get them on rent from Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) in their neighbourhood. Happy Seeder technology to manage rice residue can generate Rs 6000-11500 more profit per hectare for the average farmer. However, the National Green Tribunal bench has expressed concern that equipment is yet not made available to farmers.
The government of UP has given responsibility to officers in charge of police stations to take strict action against those found burning stubble. If needed, FIRs may also be registered against the offenders. Directions have also been issued to all the district Magistrates to appoint nodal officers at the village level to make farmers aware of not burning the stubble. They have also been asked to depute gram Pradhans and area Lekhpals for this purpose. If such incidents take place in any area, actions are also to be taken against the responsible official. To get rid of the problem of stubble, it has also been decided to complete the target of distributing necessary types of equipment.
However, things are not working very well. In Sangrur in Punjab, a team of block-level officers went to the fields of farmers who were burning stubble, to take action against the farmers. However, they were gheraoed by farmers who assembled there in large numbers under the banner of the Bhartiya Kiasan Union. These farmers shouted slogans against the state government. The officers were released only when they assured the farmers that they would not take any action for stubble burning. The farmers accused the state government is not serious about giving relief to farmers who were submerged in debt. The financial position of farmers does not permit them to consume costly diesel in burying the stubble under the land. On the contrary, the government is wasting crores of rupees on the drive to create awareness about not burning the stubble. If these resources are spent on compensating the farmers, then the inclination to burn stubble will stop to a large extent. Similar resistance by farmers has been reported in many parts of Punjab and Haryana.
What emerges from the above analysis is that the state governments in four states of Northern India and the Government of India have taken the issue of stubble burning casually. Perhaps, they are afraid of farmers’ backlash. But it must be realized that air pollution has caused a national medical emergency, and more serious, strict, and vigorous steps have to be taken till the practice of stubble burning is eradicated.
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