Combine harvesters sans straw mgmt to be confiscated

Even as no active fire locations (AFLs) were reported in Hisar and Fatehabad districts today, officials have got tough in an attempt to force the ban on farm fires in these two districts.

Remedial measures

• Hisar DC Pradeep Dahiya has directed the Assistant Agricultural Engineer to hold an immediate meeting with the representatives of the industries buying straw bundles
• The Deputy Director of Agriculture (DDA) has been asked to get the mapping of all villages done so that in-situ and ex-situ machines can be made available there on time

Hisar Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Dahiya has issued strict directions for the operation of combine harvesters fitted with the Straw Management System (SMS) in the district for paddy residue management and to put a curb on farm fires.

The Deputy Commissioner said any combine machine operating without SMS would be seized immediately. He directed the officials to ensure that no combine in the district is operated without SMS. “The proper management of crop residue is necessary to protect the environment and maintain the fertility of the soil,” he said while holding a meeting with district officials here today.

Dahiya said no machine owner should take more money from the farmers than the fixed rate, otherwise strict action would be taken. He instructed all SDMs and Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officers concerned to check the baler machines in their area and also ensure that all the balers were working properly in Hisar district. He also directed the Assistant Agricultural Engineer to hold an immediate meeting with the representatives of the industries buying straw bundles in the district.

Meanwhile, the district administration has asked the Deputy Director of Agriculture (DDA) to get the mapping of all the villages cultivating paddy in the district done so that in-situ and ex-situ machines can be made available to the villages concerned on time. The DC appealed to the farmers to take advantage of the machines and techniques provided by the government and cooperate in crop residue management.

“The administration is keeping a close watch on the incidents of fire in the fields. All village secretaries, patwaris, chowkidars, numberdars and sarpanches must keep a watch and deliver a message of the district administration by making announcements in the village about the ban on burning stubble in their respective villages,” he said.

In Fatehabad, there are 40 red entries in the records of the farmers who resorted to farm fires. The district officials informed that three employees have been placed under suspension and five FIRs have been registered against the farmers in Fatehabad district. The SDM of Tohana subdivision in Fatehabad district Prateek Hooda also served show-cause notices to six employees and the members of the village level vigilance committee in Jamalpur Shekha and Tohana today. In Hisar, the district administration had got the FIRs registered against 11 farmers for crop fires till yesterday.