Center doubles fine for burning stubble | Latest News Delhi

The Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjacent Areas (Imposition, Collection and Utilization of Environmental Compensation for Stubble Burning) amendment rules, 2024, were notified on Wednesday and made public on Thursday.

On the same day, the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM) also issued an order asking states to implement the guidelines and revised environmental compensation should be imposed with immediate effect.

“The Commission, through its order dated November 7, has authorized all nodal/supervisory officers appointed by the respective governments in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the State of Punjab, the State of Haryana and the NCR areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to impose and collect environmental measures. Compensation (EC) to farmers causing air pollution through stubble burning, as per the revised rates. This order must be implemented by the respective state governments with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Under these rules, farmers with plots smaller than two hectares will be fined ₹5,000 for each incidence of stubble burning, an increase of ₹2,500.

Those with plots larger than two hectares but smaller than five will be fined ₹10,000 and farmers with more than five hectares of land will have to pay ₹30,000 per incident.

The rules were first announced in 2023.

The notification also provides a format to impose fines on farmers for stubble burning. These include requiring state officials to record details of the farmer including his name, house number, street, village, tehsil, district, contact details, land details (including khasra, khewat and khatoni numbers), along with the estimated area. The EC will also need the farmer’s signature.

The move comes at a time when the capital’s air quality is on a downward spiral – it stood at 377 in the Central Pollution Control Board bulletin at 4pm on Thursday, and had deteriorated to 382 (24-hour average) by 10pm, the eve of the “severe” zone starting from 400.

Farmers in northern India set fire to their rice fields after the seasonal harvest to clear their plots before the winter harvest. However, smoke from these fires travels hundreds of kilometers towards Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), shrouding the area in a gray haze and exposing even healthy people to a range of dangerous diseases.

Last year, Punjab recorded 36,632 across the state between September 15 and November 15. In 2022 there were 49,922, in 2021 71,159, in 2020 83,002 and in 2019 55,210.

CAQM has not shared any data or commented on the fines imposed so far, despite queries from HT.

However, farmers stressed that they needed government support to eradicate the practice.

Harinder Singh, state president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) in Punjab, said the number of cases of farm fires was “decreasing”.

“Farmers are willing to cooperate and simply need help. Even now we do not receive any subsidies, and it is the smaller farmers – with land of less than two hectares – who suffer. Not all of them get access to machines that remove rice stubble. Moreover, it is difficult to use these machines to remove stubble on smaller plots,” he says.

Others also said farmers should be incentivized rather than punished.

“Richer farmers with larger plots of land can get machines and even pay bailors to collect residues. Smaller farmers are the ones who are now burning their leftover residues and they are the ones who are likely to suffer. We are calling for financial help, of approx ₹200 per quintal of stubble sold,” said Balkarn Brar, state president of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in Bathinda, Punjab.

Experts say stubble management plans need to be more holistic.

“It is more important to have enablers. For example, farmers need to have timely access to straw management machines so that the roster can be managed properly. There are two ways to manage stubble: on-site, where the straw is used on the farm, and ex-situ management, where the stubble is transported to make pellets, etc. Ex-situ strategies require storage and transport support . For example, after CAQM banned the use of coal as fuel in the NCR, the use of biomass has increased and the price has also increased. But farmers are not benefiting from this as storage and transportation remain challenges,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of the Center for Science and Environment.

Delhi’s AQI has been above 300 (very poor) since October 30. The contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM 2.5, small particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, stood at 20.3% on Tuesday, according to data from the calculated Decision Support System. based on the actual fire numbers. A day earlier this was still 23.3%. By November 1, farm fires were estimated to have contributed a seasonal high of 35.1% of Delhi’s PM 2.5 load.