Over 5K farmers in Ambala district seek incentive for not burning straw

Over 5,000 farmers in Ambala district have sought an incentive for not burning the paddy residue in over 37,800 acres.

The farmers can get registrations done up to November 30. The Haryana Government provides assistance of Rs 1,000 per acre to farmers for the in situ and ex situ management of paddy.

As per the Agriculture Department, as many as 5,021 farmers have registered 37,818 acres of land on the department’s portal to get incentive for not burning the residue. Of the total farmers, around 3,500 have mixed the stubble back into the soil in nearly 26,000-acre land, while nearly 1,500 farmers have managed the stubble by preparing bales on nearly 11,800-acre land.

An official of the Agriculture Department said employees and officials of the department had been holding awareness camps at the village level to make farmers aware of the benefits of the crop residue management. As per the directions of the government, red entries are being made in the land records of the farmers, which will restrict farmers from selling their produce in the grain market for the next two seasons.

As per department, a total of 87 active fire locations were reported, of which 78 cases were reported by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC). Of the total cases, stubble burning was confirmed at 47 locations, while no active fire location was found at 40 locations.

The department has imposed an environment compensation charge (ECC) of Rs 1.07 lakh on 35 farmers who set the paddy stubble ablaze. Besides, five FIRs have been lodged against five farmers for burning the paddy stubble.

Deputy Director, Agriculture, Jasvinder Saini said, “Farmers are registering their claims for the incentive for not burning the paddy residue. They can have the registration done up to November 30. Harvesting in nearly 96 per cent area has been completed. Department officials are still in field to persuade farmers not to burn the stubble and take benefits of the incentive being given by the government. The farmers can improve the fertility of their fields and achieve a higher yield by mixing the stubble back into the soil. It also reduces the requirement of fertiliser.”

Deputy Commissioner Parth Gupta said, “All efforts are being made to reduce the farm fires and to make farmers aware of the ill-effects of farm fires and incentives being given by the government. The incentive money will be directly deposited into the bank accounts of the farmers. Meanwhile, strict action is also being taken against farmers who burn stubble.”

Rs 1.07 lakh charge imposed on 35 farmers

• The department has imposed an environment compensation charge of Rs 1.07 lakh on 35 farmers who set the paddy stubble ablaze. Besides, five FIRs have been lodged against five farmers for burning paddy stubble.
• A total of 87 active fire locations were reported, of which 78 cases were reported by the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC). Of the total cases, stubble burning was confirmed at 47 locations, while no active fire location was found at 40 locations.