‘Bale-d’ Out of Stubble Burning: Haryana Makes Hay, But Punjab Clutches at Straws | Here’s Why

Even as citizens gasp for breath, both the Delhi and Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments have blamed Haryana for the rise in air pollution, stating their “farm fires are underreported" or it is the “smoke from stubble burning in Rohtak and Sonepat that is adding to the smog".

Haryana, however, according to the data, has been able to bring down the incidents this year with 1,701 farm fires between September 15 and October 28 compared to 2,252 last year — a reduction of about 25%. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar said so far, 21,500 such incidents have been reported in Punjab.

How did they do it?

Thanks to happy seeder tractors or straw balers — a machine that compresses crop residue into compact bales.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Once the leftover stubble is cut into fine pieces, it is compressed into compact round bales by a straw baler mounted on a tractor, which then loads it into the trolleys. The entire process takes a few hours depending on the area.

“The bales (made of straw) can only be taken for processing if the overall moisture content is less than 20 per cent, which is duly tested before collection. If it is more than that, then it is deemed unfit for collection," one of the workers at the plant run by Germany-based company Verbio India earlier told News18.

WHAT DID HARYANA DO?

Haryana is giving Rs 50 per quintal incentive amount and subsidy on straw management equipment to farmers for making stubble bales.

If a farmer takes stubble bales to the ethanol plant in Karnal and Panipat, he is given an incentive of Rs 2,000 per acre.

WHEREAS IN PUNJAB…

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government has been promoting the use of baler machines, even providing subsidy to those who want to purchase it.

“We have shifted to converting the straw into small compact bales, which are sold to factories for Rs 250 per quintal for making biofuels or as raw material for construction products," Surjant Singh, a farmer from Kalajhar village in Sangrur, who also works in the state’s water supply department, earlier told News18.

…The problems: While there are over thousands of applications from farmers seeking subsidy, the execution is challenging as most farmers complain that bales once formed aren’t collected on time and end up delaying harvesting even further.

Not just this, sources in the central government has pointed out the under-utilisation of available machines for treating stubble in Punjab.

More than 1,20,000 machines are available in Punjab. They have been procured through the Rs 1,347 crore provided by the Centre to the state government through its CRM scheme. Farmers, however, say these machines never reached their fields.

OTHER STEPS BY HARYANA

The Haryana government has made a provision of giving an incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre to those who do not burn stubble. Farmers are being given a 50 per cent subsidy on equipment for crop residue management, he said.

“Furthermore, if a farmer takes stubble in Gaushalas, then an incentive amount of Rs 1,500 is given to them," the Haryana chief minister informed.

Khattar said farmers are being aware of the harmful effects of stubble burning.

“Haryana is also giving cash rewards of up to Rs 10 lakh to the panchayat for not burning stubble in the red zone area. Last year, the government had made a provision of Rs 216 crore for stubble management," Khattar said.

With Agency Inputs

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