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Stubble burning incidents come down
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- The number of stubble-burning incidents in 2019 was the least in four years, the Economic Survey says.
More in news
- Other Details in the Economic survey:
(1) Data from ICAR:
(a) According to satellite data, there were 61,332 instances of stubble-burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh between October and November, 2019.
(b) There were 75,532 instances in 2018, 88,948 in 2017 and 127,774 in 2016, according to data sourced from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
(2) Significant reduction:
(a) With various efforts, overall, the total number of burning events recorded a significant reduction.
(b) However, the continuation of this practice by farmers is reported every year starting winter, and the serious concerns about its impact on air quality are raised.
(3) Fire Events and Increase in PM level:
(a) The number of fire events peaked from mid-October till the first week of November 2019.
(b) This led to an increase in the levels of particulate matter in Delhi in October and November, compared with September 2019.
(4) Reasons for increase in PM Levels:
(a) The pollution levels spike when farmers in these three States burn the residue after harvesting paddy to clear the fields of the summer harvest and make way for wheat sowing.
(b) The smoke from these fires travels to Delhi, leading to a gaseous cocktail that causes air quality to plummet.
(5) Ban not enforced: There has been a ban on burning this agricultural residue, but the State authorities have not been able to entirely stop it.
(6) Conservation:
(a) Agriculture conservation should be promoted with “low lignocellulosic” crop residues, such as rice, wheat, maize.
(b) Crop residue-based briquettes ought to be encouraged & thermal power plants in the vicinity ought to be encouraged to undertake firing of crop residues with coal.
Sources
The Hindu