Putting out farm fires

THE smoke from the farm fires refuses to recede with the revelation that Punjab failed to collect fine from the farmers booked for stubble burning despite a Supreme Court order. Only a paltry Rs 1 lakh has been collected against the Rs 6.1 crore levied. In a predominantly agricultural state, farmers are an important group, economically and politically, which may explain the reluctance to act strictly against them, more so with the rabi or wheat-sowing season in progress. Stubble burning has become chronic and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) attributes the severity of its impact during October-November to factors like low temperature, wind direction and vehicular pollution. The practice affects the health of the soil, besides contributing to global warming, ailments and traffic mishaps. The PAU has claimed that the incidents of farm fire and the acreage under stubble burning have come down as compared to the previous year.

Maintaining sustainable development, taking precautions and making the polluter pay are the core principles on which the National Green Tribunal (NGT) operates, while also recognising the citizens’ right to a clean environment. It divided landholdings into three categories and fixed the amount for penalty in slabs. The state governments were asked to pay subsidy on machines used to manage paddy straw, based on the size of the landholdings; farmers owning less than 0.8 hectare were stipulated to get the machines free of cost. But both Punjab and Haryana blamed the Centre for reducing subsidy on farm equipment, hindering their efforts, the blame game not surprising for a subject that encompasses food security as well as rural economy where agricultural distress can tell on the health of the urban centres by lowering demand.

The PAU has been urged to develop rapid waste decomposition technology to cut costs. A green cess, to be deducted at the time of paddy procurement, to pay for making the practice sustainable by helping meet the costs, can also be given a thought. The peasantry needs healthy farm practices. Diligence and awareness can help achieve it.