Straw management system must for paddy harvesting in Hry

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has directed farmers to attach their combine harvesters to Super Straw Management System (SSMS) while harvesting paddy to check stubble burning in the state.

No combine harvester will be allowed to harvest paddy without functional SSMS attached to it, a spokesperson of the HSPCB said here today.

The SSMS cuts the straw into small pieces, thereby eliminating the need for farmers to burn the crop residue, which is an illegal practice, he said.

The burning of paddy straw in open fields after harvesting is the main reason of air pollution in the state and adjoining Delhi-NCR. Such actions are causing irreparable damage to the soil and environment, the spokesperson pointed out.

He said the Haryana environment department had issued the first notification prohibiting the indiscriminate burning of leftover paddy straw and wheat stubble on September 16, 2003.