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Haryana’s Agriculture Department has suspended 24 officers posted in different districts for negligence in this matter. These officers had failed to stop the incident of stubble burning in their respective areas.
Pramod Praveen , ChandigarhTue, 22 Oct 2024 09:24 AM share
Amidst the increasing pollution in Delhi-NCR, the Haryana government has taken seriously the incident of stubble burning in its state and has taken strict action against those who violate the orders of the Supreme Court. Haryana’s Agriculture Department has suspended 24 officers posted in different districts for negligence in this matter. These officers had failed to stop the incident of stubble burning in their respective areas. The government has taken this action on the basis of recommendations received from Deputy Commissioners and Deputy Directors.
Apart from this, the Haryana government has arrested 18 farmers in Kaithal district in the last few days on charges of burning stubble in the fields. Stubble burning in Haryana and neighboring Punjab is often blamed for rising pollution levels in Delhi, especially during October and November. “In the last few days, 18 farmers were arrested for burning stubble but were later released on bail as this is a bailable offence,” a police official said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) of Kaithal district in Haryana, Birbhan, said cases have been registered under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and other relevant provisions of the law for stubble burning. Recently, FIRs have been registered for stubble burning in some other districts including Panipat, Yamunanagar and Ambala. It is said that after the paddy harvest, farmers burn the stubble in the fields on a large scale, so that the fields can be prepared for the next crop, but this causes air pollution on a large scale. This smoke rising from the fields of Punjab-Haryana is a major factor in spreading pollution till Delhi-NCR.
Haryana Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad on Sunday directed the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that incidents of stubble burning are effectively curbed. The Supreme Court on Wednesday rapped the governments of Haryana and Punjab for not prosecuting violators in stubble burning cases.
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A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to take punitive action against Haryana and Punjab government officials for failing to take action against the violators.
Farmers burn paddy residue (straw) to clear their fields for sowing of Rabi crop wheat, as the period between harvesting and sowing is very short. Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda and Congress general secretary and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja had recently demanded that the government fix the minimum support price (MSP) for stubble and purchase it from farmers. (with language inputs)
