Stubble burning dropped drastically this year: Ministry

The data is the result of monitoring of paddy residue burning events from September15 in the states of Punjab, Haryana and the NCR areas of UP by the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) to curb and abate air pollution during the ongoing harvest season. The CAQM has held a series of meetings with state government officials, including the District Collectors/ District Magistrates of Punjab, Haryana and UP.

This year, during the one-month period, the total reported residue burning events in Punjab are 1,286 as against 4,216 for the same period of last year. Similarly, in Haryana, the reported stubble burning incidents are 487 against 596 for the corresponding period last year. In the eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh, the total stubble fire incidents reported during this period are 22 as against 42 for the corresponding period last year.

No such incidents have been reported from Delhi and two NCR districts of Rajasthan. The first paddy residue burning this year in Punjab was reported on September 16, in Haryana on September 28, and in the NCR area of Uttar Pradesh on September 18.Punjab’s hotspots of paddy residue burning are Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala and Ludhiana which account for 72 per cent of such incidents in the state.

Similarly, the major hotspots in Haryana are Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra, accounting for 80 per cent of the state’s stubble burning incidents. Out of the 1,795 sites where stubble burning has been reported in Punjab, Haryana and eight NCR districts of UP till Thursday, 663 fields have been inspected by the enforcement agencies, and environmental compensation has been imposed in 252 cases.