Stubble burning: Punjab issues directions for combine harvesters

In a bid to curb the menace of stubble burning, the Punjab government has issued a set of instructions for owners of combine harvesters in the state.

These instructions are aimed at saving the environment from air pollution caused by stubble burning, a senior official said on Monday.

Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman K.S. Pannu said that the owners of combine harvesters who want to harvest paddy in the state have been directed to attach a super straw management system with the harvester combine.

He said instructions have been issued that no harvester combine shall be allowed to harvest paddy in the state without a functional super straw management system.

"The instructions have been issued under Section 31 A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981," Pannu said here.

Pannu stated under various notifications, Punjab has been declared as air pollution control area.

He said that the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has also recommended that super straw management system be attached to self-propelled combine harvesters, which cuts the paddy straw into small pieces and spread the same.

"With this method of harvesting, farmers are not required to burn the paddy straw, before sowing the next crop," Pannu pointed out.

He said that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had, on December 10, 2015, prohibited agricultural residue burning in NCR, including Punjab.

--IANS

js/pgh/sac