Haryana records 29 fresh cases of stubble burning

Haryana recorded 29 new cases of stubble burning in the last 24 hours on Friday, marking the highest daily count in the past week and raising the total cases for this season to 935. The previous high was on November 1, with 35 cases reported that day.

Despite the recent increase, this season's stubble burning incidents remain lower than previous years. Between September 15 and November 8, Haryana saw 1,649 cases of farm fires in 2023, a notable reduction compared to 2,624 cases in 2022, and 4,536 in 2021 for the same period.

With 168 cases, Kaithal is leading the state, followed by 130 in Kurukshetra, 87 in Fatehabad, 84 in Karnal and Jind each, 82 in Ambala, 52 in Sonepat, 47 in Sirsa, 40 in Faridabad, 36 in Palwal, 35 in Yamunanagar, 31 in Panipat, and 25 in Hisar.

Officials credit the decline in stubble burning incidents to intensified efforts across multiple departments, heightened farmer awareness, and the provision of in-situ and ex-situ residue management machinery on subsidy.

“Joint efforts of the officials of different departments and with the support of farmers, we have significantly reduced stubble burning cases this season. We aim to reach zero cases in the coming years,” said Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Karnal.

He also said the government scheme of extending an incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre for not burning stubble also contributed to the reduction in cases.