Stubble don’t burn

Stubble don’t burn

Punjab and Haryana must pass the test this winter, not release clouds of smoke

The familiar worsening of air quality in winter is making its discomfiting presence felt in many parts of North India. Punjab and Haryana burning nearly 20 million tonnes of paddy stubble to quickly prepare the ground for rabi crop sowing has been widely recognised as a main culprit for some years now, and it’s underway all over again. This comes on top of the capital anyway not having had a single “good” air day during June-September despite good rains. Coming month will test policy makers’ ability to prevent a replay of last October’s Nasa satellite maps, where the Indo-Gangetic plain went under a vast cloud of grey smoke.

This March, Centre announced a Rs 1,152 crore crop residue management scheme spread over two years to incentivise farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to purchase equipment like happy seeders for green straw management. But while the subsidising of machines by 80% for cooperative groups and 50% for individual farmers has led to an eightfold growth in their sales, small and marginal farmers who operate on thin margins remain loath to spend their meagre incomes on buying or renting the machines. Farmers are seeking compensation for the additional expenditure incurred on diesel cost.

To their credit Punjab and Haryana are pressing a large army of nodal officers into service to check stubble burning; they must convince farmers that it damages soil nutrients and triggers respiratory diseases. As for Delhi NCR it must get ready to put the Graded Response Action Plan into action effectively. Transport department must get into mission mode to check vehicular emissions, including by turning away overloaded trucks at the border. Strong central government coordination with Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will also be critical for better air quality this winter.