The number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana since September 15 has reduced by around 56 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, compared to the corresponding period last year.

In the period between September 15 and October 29, the cumulative number of farm fires in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and NCR areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh has reduced from 13,964 in 2022 to 6,391 in 2023, the Centre's Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said.

There were 11,461 stubble-burning cases in the corresponding period in 2021, it said.

In Punjab, there were 5,254 stubble burning incidents during this 45-day period this year, compared to 12,112 in 2022 and 9,001 in 2021. This represents a reduction of 56.6 per cent and 41.6 per cent, respectively.

Haryana reported 1,094 stubble burning cases during this 45-day period this year and it is significantly lower than the 1,813 in 2022 and 2,413 in 2021. This reflects a reduction of 39.7 per cent and 54.7 per cent, respectively.

The Punjab government is aiming to reduce farm fires by 50 per cent this winter season and eliminate stubble burning in six districts -- Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali) and SBS Nagar.

According to the state's action plan to curb paddy straw burning, about 31 lakh hectares of land in the state is under paddy cultivation. This is expected to generate around 16 million tonnes of paddy straw (non-basmati), which will be managed through in-situ and ex-situ methods.

Haryana estimates that about 14.82 lakh hectares of land in the state is under paddy cultivation. This is expected to generate over 7.3 million tonnes of paddy straw (non-basmati).

The state will attempt near elimination of farm fires this year.

Along with unfavourable meteorological conditions, paddy straw burning in adjoining states is a major reason behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.

Farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue before cultivating wheat and vegetables.

According to the Union Environment Ministry, the maximum share of farm fires in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution stood at 34 per cent on November 3 last year and 48 per cent on November 7, 2021.

The Central government has allocated approximately Rs. 3,333 crore under the Crop Residue Management Scheme to the state governments of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

These funds support the subsidised procurement of machines by individual farmers, custom hiring centres and cooperatives for in-situ management of paddy straw and for baling/raking machines and equipment for ex-situ applications.

The total number of crop residue management (CRM) machines available is 1,17,672 in Punjab, 80,071 in Haryana, and 7,986 in UP-NCR. Additional procurement is underway to acquire 23,000 CRM machines in Punjab, 7,572 in Haryana, and 595 in Uttar Pradesh to augment their availability during the current harvesting season.

While the reduction in paddy stubble burning incidents is evident, the recent days have seen a sudden surge in Punjab. It is expected that harvesting activities will peak in the coming weeks. On October 29 alone, Punjab reported 1,068 stubble burning cases, the CAQM said.

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