The Punjab government has set a target to bring down crop residue burning incidents by 50 per cent in the upcoming season, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said on Wednesday.
Khudian was addressing a one-day state level workshop-cum-training programme on "Space-based Technology for Monitoring Stubble Burning under Agro-Geoinformatics" in Chandigarh, according to an official release.
The state government has been leaving no stone unturned in tackling the menace of crop residue burning, he said.
Due to the government's concerted efforts, stubble burning incidents came down to 36,623 in 2023 from 49,922 in 2022, reflecting a drop of 26 per cent, the minister added.
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Special Chief Secretary (Development) KAP Sinha said the state government is mulling the launch of the crop residue management campaign in advance this year to more effectively contain farm fire incidents, besides encouraging growers to adopt crop diversification.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered as one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region in October and November.
Punjab Remote Sensing Centre Director B Pateriya highlighted the harmful effects of stubble burning on air and soil qualities and human health.
He also called for synergy among the Agriculture department, NGOs, academia, industry and the farmers to tackle paddy straw burning.
