🌾 Haryana Targets Zero Stubble Burning Within Two Years

Chandigarh: Haryana is on course to become a zero stubble-burning state within two years, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi said on Friday, highlighting a 77% drop in farm fire incidents this season. As of November 6, only 171 cases were reported, down from 888 last year. The progress was reviewed at a high-level meeting chaired by CAQM Chairperson Rajesh Verma, who commended officials and farmers — especially in Karnal and Kurukshetra — for curbing paddy residue fires. Verma cautioned that the next 10 days are critical, urging strict field surveillance. Rastogi said Haryana’s three-pronged strategy — in-situ management, ex-situ utilisation, and fodder use — has covered all 39.31 lakh acres of paddy. Of the 85.5 lakh tonnes of residue generated, 44.4 lakh tonnes were managed in-situ, 19.1 lakh tonnes ex-situ, and 22 lakh tonnes used as fodder. To promote sustainable farming, the government incentivised: ₹1,200/acre for residue management ₹8,000/acre for crop diversification ₹4,500/acre for Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) with a ₹471 crore total outlay. Haryana is also expanding industrial use of paddy straw through 31 pelletization plants, 11 biomass power units (111.9 MW), 1 ethanol plant, 2 CBG plants, and 5 thermal power stations using 16.6 lakh tonnes of straw. Over 10,000 nodal officers and satellite monitoring are being used for real-time detection. So far, 87 FIRs have led to ₹4.6 lakh fines, with ₹3.35 lakh recovered. #Haryana #StubbleBurning #ZeroStubbleBurning #CleanAir #SustainableFarming #CropResidueManagement #GreenIndia #AirQuality