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Fines fail to deter stubble burning
Why is it in news?
- Between September 27 and October 14, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) imposed Rs 8,92,500 as fines.
- Or “environmental compensation cess” as it is officially called — on farmers burning paddy stubble.
- However, they collected only Rs 3,05,000, according to figures from the organisation.
- The Centre and the States Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have in several meetings through the year declared a “zero tolerance” policy on the burning of stubble for farmers.
- But which according to various studies, contributes anywhere from 17% to 78% to the particulate matter-emission load in the city during winter.
- To discourage farmers in Punjab and Haryana the government has also disbursed ₹591 crore to these States to sell subsidised farm implements that can do away with stubble without having to burn them.
What are failures?
- Despite a vigorous focus by governments on making mechanised farm implements :
- combine harvesters-cum-straw management system,
- seed drillers,
- rotary harvesters — available to farmers
- it’s still inaccessible to many farmers with landholdings less than 5 acres or those not rich enough to invest in such machines.
- These machines, at best, can harvest 10 acres a day.
- There are only three or four machines available (for a variety of tasks from cutting the straw, planting wheat, baling the straw).
- That works out to 120 days for managing the fields.
- However, farmers have barely two months between mid-September and mid-November to clear out the field.
- This year, delayed rains have shrunk the window further and different regions in Punjab have different harvesting times, in keeping with subtle weather differences.
- In many cases there is no option but to burn because it’s quick and cheap.
- Then there’s the spike in diesel prices.
Source
The Hindu