Amid calls for stopping stubble-burning in States adjoining Delhi, which is facing severe dip in air quality, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday announced cash incentives for those reporting such incidents and directed officials to encourage farmers to opt alternatives.
His announcement came on a day a Supreme Court panel on pollution control declared a public health emergency in the national capital, and according to the Centre’s air quality monitor SAFAR, the share of stubble burning in Delhi’s pollution stood at 46 per cent, the highest so far.
An official release issued here said Khattar met officials to review the crop residue management (CRM) scheme in his State.
He directed officers of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department to visit 10 villages where maximum incidents crop residue burning has been reported and ascertain the reason behind it, the release said.
He said a cash award of Rs 1,000 would be given to those informing about such incidents in their area and their identity would be kept secret, it added.
He said that the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of the concerned districts would also organize meeting of ‘Gram Sabha’ in these villages so that detailed deliberations could be held with the farmers on the issue.
Directions were also issued for exploring various options for the purchase of crop residue from farmers. He directed to explore the possibilities of utilization of crop residue in sugars mills for power generation, the release said, adding he sought a report in this regard at the earliest.
Khattar’s Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal has often blamed the Delhi’s pollution on stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana and requested the respective state Governments to stop it.
Khattar also said discussions should be held on providing latest instruments to farmers and benefits of various schemes for encouraging them to sell their crop residue and adopt the crop residue management.