45 per cent drop in stubble burning in Punjab

The Punjab government claimed on Friday that there has been a 45 per cent drop in stubble burning cases in the state during the 2017 paddy harvesting season as compared to 2016.

"This fact came to light at a high-level meeting under the chairmanship of the Union Environment Secretary C.K. Mishra. Senior officers of the state Agriculture and Environment Departments said that there were 80,879 cases of stubble burning during 2016 paddy season while only 43,814 cases reported in 2017 season, which are 45 per cent less than 2016," a state government spokesman said here.

"They also said there were 15,378 cases of stubble burning during the 2017 wheat harvesting season. The 2018 season was even better, when 11,095 cases of stubble burning came into light. This figure is 28 per cent less than the 2017 figure," he pointed out.

He claimed that the drop in stubble burning cases was owing to the awareness and motivation campaigns started by the state government with farmers."It was pointed out that there was a legal mechanism in place against residue burning but the state government is sensitizing farmers against stubble burning," he said.

Stubble burning in agrarian states Punjab and Haryana leads to health hazards in north India along with polluting the environment.

--IANS

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