PATIALA: The
Punjab Pollution Control Board (
PPCB) is set to make a super-straw management system (SMS) mandatory in combine paddy harvesters.
To move ahead with this, it has already issued a 30-day notice for inviting objections and suggestions from stakeholders. The system, considered to be a viable solution to manage loose paddy straw, is aimed at eradicating the main cause behind
stubble fires, which have an adverse effect on air quality and soil health.
PPCB chairperson
K S Pannu said the stray management system was capable of managing crop residue simultaneously when the crop was harvested. He said keeping in view the recommendations of
Punjab Agricultural University (
PAU), Ludhiana, the board issued an advisory during the last harvesting season to owners of the combine harvesters to use the new system. "This practice was followed by a large number of farmers in the state. Results were found to be encouraging. Now, a bumper wheat crop is expected from the fields where this practice was followed, as it helped in retaining the soil health," he said.
Once the final notification will be issued, any violation of the order will attract a penalty, including imprisonment up to six years, said Pannu.
Despite the ban on stubble burning, 43,660 cases of crop residue burning were recorded using satellite imagery and geospatial data provided by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), Ludhiana, this year. PAU has already recommended that the straw management system be attached to combine harvesters that cut paddy straw into small pieces and spread it over the field.
Representative Image
