India News | Haryana Plan Aims to Completely Eliminate Farm Fires This Year: CAQM

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) With an anti-stubble burning action plan in place, Haryana will attempt near elimination of farm fires this year, the Centre's Commission for Air Quality Management said on Friday.

According to estimates by the Haryana government, about 14.82 lakh hectares of land in the state is under paddy cultivation, which is expected to generate over 7.3 million tonnes of paddy straw (non-basmati), the CAQM said in a statement.

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Haryana has used satellite data to identify areas where stubble burning is most common.

The state plans to manage around 5 lakh acres of paddy fields using the Pusa Bio Decomposer. This microbial solution can break down paddy straw in just 15-20 days and will be provided to farmers for free, it added.

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To discourage farmers from burning paddy straw, the Haryana government has also introduced financial incentives.

The government has set a price of Rs 2,500 per tonne for purchasing paddy crop residue from farmers, the CAQM said.

Farmers will receive Rs 1,000 per acre for ex-situ/in-situ management of paddy crop residue, the CAQM said.

If farmers choose to grow crops other than paddy in their fields, they can receive Rs 7,000 per acre under the 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat' scheme, it added.

Those who use direct seeding of rice, a method wherein rice seeds are directly drilled into the field, can get Rs 4,000 per acre.

Panchayats that completely stop burning crop residue will receive incentives ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, the CAQM said.

Farmers who need to transport leftover crop residue to places like gaushalas will receive Rs 500 per acre, up to a maximum of Rs 15,000, it added.

Clusters identified for 2G ethanol plant projects are receiving special support from the government in the form of subsidies.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)