Every winter, the national capital and the adjoining NCR region battles severe air pollution from several internal sources such as dust and vehicular emissions as well as meteorological conditions such as low wind speed, temperature and humidity. Add stubble burning to this cocktail and Delhi is covered in a gray haze for the whole winter.
According to an analysis by the Center for Science and Environment, Delhi has enjoyed a relatively clean pre-winter period (September 1–October 15) this year compared to previous years, with experts reporting extended rainfall as well as attributed to the delay in paddy harvest. in Punjab and Haryana. With the possibility of burning paddy straw in the next few days, pollution is also expected to increase.
The harvesting of the crop and the resulting stubble burning is just beginning in Punjab. This year the delay is due to the monsoon, which returned later than normal. About 28% paddy has been harvested in the state till October 22, compared to 41% on the same date last year.
fire statistics
Between September 1 and October 22, Punjab’s number of fires stood at 5,772 – lower than the number of fires of 11,664 till October 22 last year, the highest figure since 2016. But this year’s numbers are higher than in 2019 (4,042) and 2018 (3,502). . Till October 22, the number of fires in Haryana stood at 2,413, up from 2,121 last year. In 2019, the figure for the same time frame was 2,755, while in 2018 it was 2,503.
This is according to data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), an instrument aboard NASA’s Suomi National Institute, according to data provided by Pawan Gupta, Senior Scientist for Earth Sciences at the University Space Research Association, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, USA. is according to. Polar-orbiting partnership satellite.
Why focus on burning stubble
In 2009, the Punjab Sub Soil Conservation Act was enacted to check the depleting groundwater level. This delayed the sowing date to coincide with the onset of monsoon to reduce the burden on groundwater for irrigation. As a result, there was a delay in harvest, as well as reduced time required for stubble management and preparation for the next crop, said LS Kurinji, program associate at the Research Institute for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). This was followed by a change in wind direction in October and November which favors the move of smoke towards Delhi. He said that the field fires do not affect Delhi that much in the month of September, as the wind direction is mostly south-west.
According to the Punjab Remote Sensing Center (PRSC) at Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, which records farm fires through satellite images, there are 4,327 stubble burning incidents till October 21 – 3,402 in just nine days from October 13 to 21. Happened.
The district-wise cumulative fire numbers in Punjab between September 1 and October 22 indicate that Amritsar and Tarn Taran have the highest in the range above 850. In Haryana, Kaithal and Karnal districts show the highest number (over 460), presented Map Gupta.
“The number of fires this year is less, but comparing the figures with last year will not work. Last year, due to pandemic-induced labor shortage, more farmers adopted the ‘direct seeder’ technique, resulting in early harvest and early burning,” said LS Kurinji, program associate at the Research Institute, Council on Energy, Environment and . water (CEEW).
Kurinji said farm fires usually start in the last week of September, but this year rains have delayed the harvesting of crops in Amritsar and Tarn Taran, where early-ripening rice varieties are grown. He said that these districts are usually where the fire starts.
The contribution of stubble burning to PM 2.5 levels in Delhi reached a high of 14% on 16 October this year, which was below 5% till then. “The fire is calculated and the area in which these calculations are done is determined before we develop an emissions list due to these fire calculations. Then we run the model to find out what is contributed by the fire, Gufran Baig, Founder Project Director, SAFAR said.
Alternative
Efforts are on to help farmers with the Pusa Bio-Decomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) to aid in the decomposition of crop residues, which is being touted as a cleaner alternative than setting fire to fields.
The Delhi government has started spraying the solution on the harvested paddy fields, covering 4,000 acres out of about 14,000 acres under paddy cultivation.
Indramani Mishra, head of IARI’s agricultural engineering department, said the Punjab government has procured the decomposer through a licensee to cover around 3,000 hectares, while the Haryana government will cover around 1 lakh acres. The UP government has also bought 10 lakh acres of land from a licensee.
Mishra said a licensed private company is planning to provide 3 lakh acres in Haryana and 2 lakh acres in Punjab to decomposers free of cost as part of its CSR activity.
According to the data available on the website of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Punjab, an estimated 31.49 lakh hectare area was cultivated with paddy in 2020-21.
However, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Punjab, said that only a small section of farmers would use decomposers.
“There is not enough time to spray the decomposer and wait for it to work,” said Lakhowal, explaining why farmers were unlikely to use it. He said some farmers want to grow vegetables between paddy and wheat. In addition, the major rice variety grown in Punjab is Pusa-44 – high yielding, but also a ‘late’ variety, which is harvested later.
Alternatives to both decomposer and burning include a ‘happy seeder’, which cuts the straw and sows the seeds for the rabi crop at the same time. Lakhowal said that despite the subsidy, it is beyond the reach of many farmers.
Manmohan Kalia, Joint Director, Agricultural Machinery Wing, Punjab Agriculture Department and Nodal Officer, Straw Management, Punjab said, “Punjab is going to have more than 1 lakh machines in the state this paddy harvesting season. Presently 86,000 machines are available which is sufficient for the stubble management machinery as this is not the peak season, which starts in early November. However, farmers are not taking advantage of these machines due to rising cost of diesel and other factors.”
‘Easy to burn stubble’
Despite spending over Rs 1,000 crore on subsidized machinery to manage stubble in Punjab – which produces around 20 million paddy straw every year – stubble burning continues across the state, with the Majha region currently topping the charts. Is. In Tarn Taran and Amritsar, which fall within the region, burning fields can be seen every few 100 meters in about half a dozen blocks. Both the districts are also responsible for burning 43.4% of the total stubble burning in the state till October 21.
Farmers here sow short duration varieties of paddy (non-basmati) and basmati rice crops. They were harvested from 10 September to 20 October. It is convenient and economical for them to burn stubble.
Farmers in Jandiala Guru, Tarsikka, Majitha and Ajnala blocks in Amritsar and Chohla Sahib blocks in Khadur Sahib and Tarn Taran sow vegetables such as peas (green peas) and table potatoes after harvesting paddy. In these blocks, peas and potatoes are sown between October 1-20.
Jeet Singh, a farmer from Tarn Taran said, “I harvested short duration paddy on 5 acres of land last week. Now I have to sow peas. The sowing time was till October 20 which I cannot delay. I had only 5-6 days left to clean my field because you need a clean field to plant vegetables. It is not like wheat that can be sown in a vertical stubble with Happy Seeder or Super Seeder. It takes at least 5-6 rounds to clear the stubble and the high cost of diesel means that the machines are out of reach of small, marginal and semi-medium farmers. We are left with no option but to set fire to our fields even though it damages the soil and creates air pollution. “
Peas are a 65-day crop, harvested by the second week of December. After this, the farmers sow the second crop along with the late wheat or rabi season crops.
Assembly elections and ongoing protests against three agricultural laws also mean that action against farmers who set their fields on fire will be elusive. A senior administrative official in Amritsar said that they cannot take any coercive action against the farmers as elections are due in a few months.
Environment compensation of Rs 16.46 lakh was imposed till October 21, out of which only Rs 7,500 could be recovered. No FIR is being registered this year.
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