Haryana Government on Wednesday issued an advisory to farmers stating that burning of wheat stubble would amount to prosecution, in a step towards preventing air pollution in the State.
Advising wheat growers of the State to use stubble as fodder or convert it into manure, the State Government has stated that the farmers were indulging in burning of wheat stubble and paddy straw every year. A spokesman of Haryana State Pollution Control Board said that the Environment Department had already issued a notification regarding prohibition on stated burning of agriculture waste in open fields under the provisions of Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
He said that all the Regional Officers of Haryana State Pollution Control Board has been directed to keep a strict vigil in the ongoing harvest season of wheat and file prosecution cases in the Environment Courts against the defaulting farmers indulging in the practice of burning of wheat stubble and paddy straw.
The spokesman said that the Board has filed prosecution action against 32 farmers, who were found burning their agriculture waste in the open field in Special Environment Court at Kurukshetra and Faridabad during past years. While some of the farmers have been convicted and punished with imprisonment and fine by the Special Environment Courts, other cases are pending for decision and the same would soon be given by the Environment Courts.
The Board has approved nine prosecution cases for filing in the Environment Courts against farmers for violation of stubble burning for year 2015-16 so far, he added.
The spokesman said that the soil fertility is also lost due to burning of the essential nutrients as it is estimated that burning of one tonne of rice straw accounts for loss of 5.5 kilo gram (kg) Nitrogen, 2.3 kg phosphorus, 25 kg potassium and 1.2 kg sulphur.
He said that heat from burning residues elevates soil temperature causing death of beneficial soil organism i.e. fungi, pests, reptiles etc are burnt which otherwise are beneficial for the crops. Apart from this, the incidents of fire hazards also occur due to burning of waste and many times nearby houses and valuable property also catch fire due to this.