NGT pulls up Punjab government over stubble burning

Over the past three days, 260 cases of stubble-burning have been reported in Tara Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur. (Express)

The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday pulled up the Punjab government for not taking adequate measures to prevent farmers from burning crop residue – a significant cause of air pollution in the harvesting season.

Earlier, the NGT had directed the state to adopt a village in the Patiala district and provide incentives and infrastructural assistance to farmers there. “As on date, have you been able to find out a single farmer whom you have given incentive to stop stubble burning? Tell us where are those farmers? Show us that you have met people and given them the subsidy,” said a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar. “We are really concerned about this.” The tribunal also noted that small and marginal farmers cannot be asked to care for the environment by putting them under financial stress.

The counsel for Punjab government told the bench that the Kalar Majri village in Patiala’s Nabha tehsil, which had 390 acres of land, had been adopted for implementing the directions of the NGT. However, a group of farmers who had gathered at the NGT on Wednesday alleged that the state government had not take any effective measures.

“Why don’t you take the entire Patiala district as a project? You give them (farmers) proper time and make arrangements simultaneously for the harvesting process,” the NGT bench observed. “You cannot keep them hanging in air by delaying the entire exercise and causing them financial loss. It is your Chief Minister’s constituency, you should be more than happy to help the farmers in this region,” the bench noted.

Bharatiya Kisan Union-Rajewal president Balbir Singh Rajewal told the bench that the machinery needed to recycle the crop residue was not available to the farmers. He further alleged that the authorities were harassing farmers by imposing fines and two-thirds of the state had small and marginal farmers with less than one hectare of land and cannot afford the machinery.

After the hearing, Rajewal told The Indian Express that in certain parts of the state, more than 30 per cent of the crop residue has already been cleared up and piled up in a common area. “These are potato farmers who have cleared their fields and kept the crop residue in a common area. If the government does not provide them with assistance, it is a matter of time before they burn it,” he said. The tribunal directed the counsel to consult with the chief secretary of the state and include Rajewal in consultations so as to come up with a compensation that could be provided to the farmers for disposing off their agricultural residue and giving them the option to engage an agency of their own choice.

The next hearing on the matter has been scheduled for October 11. Earlier, the four northern states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, were pulled up by the NGT for not submitting status reports on steps to prevent pollution emanating from crop burning after the harvest season. In Punjab, the farmers found burning stubble in fields are being fined. According to sources, a total of Rs 61.32 lakh in fine has been imposed on erring farmers in wheat season this year, of which Rs 18 lakh has been recovered it. Over the past three days, 260 cases of stubble-burning have been reported in Tara Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Patiala.

On Wednesday, the state government issued fresh instructions to deter farmers from continuing with the practice. It has been decided to make an entry with “red pen” in revenue records against the plot number where stubble-burning is reported. Ludhiana DC Pardeep Aggarwal, “Patwaris have been told to do entry with red pen in revenue records against the name of farmer. Words ‘paddy burning’ will be used in the records to indicate errant farmers.”

With inputs from Raakhi Jagga and PTI