NCR Pollution: UP Govt Mulls Stringent Legal Action Amid Rising Stubble Burning Cases
The state government is taking measures like seizing unauthorised farm equipment to imposing fines failing to check incidents of stubble burning and also lodging FIRs against the offenders.
Amid the rise in stubble burning cases, the Uttar Pradesh government is mulling over taking stringent legal panel actions against the offenders to get hold of the situation. The state government is taking measures like seizing unauthorised farm equipment imposing fines for failing to check incidents of stubble burning and also lodging FIRs against the offenders. However, the awareness campaigns which were held to highlight the harms of stubble burning did not show better results.
According to the data of the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which is also used by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), close to 800 different fire farm incidents were reported in the last fortnight from 18 districts.
These comprise Aligarh, Barabanki, Fatehpur, Kanpur Nagar, Mathura, Hardoi, Sambhal, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, Rampur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Bulandshahr, Shamli, and Bareilly districts. While the government is urging farmers to adopt alternative means to dispose of stubble, the growers termed the suggested measures "impractical".
Gurupal Singh, a farmer of Powayan in Shahjahanpur, said, "The easiest way for us to dispose of stubble is to burn them. Other measures like uprooting them with special equipment, spraying biochemicals, etc are labour intensive that cost money,” as quoted by PTI.
"This also needs to be done quickly to prepare the field for the next crop. In such a case, poor farmers like me are left with no option but to burn the stubble," he said.
Singh said he was penalised for stubble burning in 2019. Apart from holding awareness campaigns, the district administration is also slapping such farmers with fines. In Rampur, the district administration has imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on different farmers across the district for stubble burning in a week. According to district officials, Rs 32,500 of this has been collected as a fine so far.
Similarly, in Fatehpur district, the administration has collected Rs 27,000 as a fine from farmers involved in stubble burning. The Fatehpur district administration has also seized 16 harvesters operating without the necessary equipment to reduce stubble waste. According to the directions issued by the state government, for anyone caught burning agricultural residue or waste in fields in UP, a fine of Rs 2,500 for fields less than two acres, Rs 5,000 for two-five acres, and Rs 15,000 for fields above five acres will be imposed.
Assistant Divisional Magistrate (Finance) of Bulandshahr, Vivek Kumar Mishra said, "Apart from fines, the farmers can face up to six months of imprisonment on repeat offences. We have intimated this to farmers in awareness camps held in the district. The village heads have been asked to remain vigilant and report any incident of stubble burning," as quoted by PTI.
Bulandshahr in western Uttar Pradesh is one of the districts with the worst air quality in the state. The district administration has organised several awareness camps to educate farmers about the harms of stubble burning. Teams have also been formed at the tehsil level to present such incidents, said the officer.
The district administration has roped in village heads to prevent stubble burning. District Magistrate of Sultanpur Raveesh Gupta said, "The village heads have been asked to lodge an FIR against anyone involved in stubble burning. The village heads have been asked to take a picture of the incident which is mandatory to lodge an FIR," as quoted by PTI.
Two farmers were fined Rs 2,500 each for stubble burning in the district on October 31. The top bureaucrat in his letter asked the officials to ensure legal penal action against farmers found burning crop residues, and also create awareness among them about the negative impact farm fires can have on the environment. The legal penal actions also include lodging FIRs against repeat offenders of stubble burning.
The burning of crop residues and garbage is seen as a major cause of air pollution during winter. The air quality worsens every year in the October-November period when paddy harvesting is done. These fire incidents are expected to spike in the coming days, agriculture scientists claim. The delay in harvest can be a troubling sign for the air quality if stubble-burning incidents continue, he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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