Punjab farm fires, Punjab Stubble Burning, Punjab Stubble Burning Alternative Machines: Despite rising Air Quality Index( AQI) in India specially in its northern parts, the cases of stubble burning are down by 50 percent in Punjab. Delhi CM Atishi in October 2024 during a press conference gave out data outlining that cases of farm fires in Punjab are down by 50 percent. However, after Diwali 2024, the AQI started to go up in Punjab and surrounding areas outlining that the fight against factors leading to Air Pollution in India is still on. Interestingly, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently confirmed that stubble-burning cases have gone down significantly. Chouhan stated that stubble burning has dropped by 35 percent in Punjab and 21 percent in Haryana compared to last year. Now, the question arises what are stubble burning alternatives i.e. machineries that the Punjab government actively promoted due to which they have achieved such positive results?
Machines Used As Stubble Burning Alternative
Amid debate on AQI, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann recently outlined the commitment of the government to address pollution by highlighting the 'Crop Residue Management Loan Scheme' to help farmers get access to machinery for disposing off stubble instead of burning it. Under the Punjab Government's rop Residue Management Loan Scheme, farmers will get 50 to 80 percent subsidy on h Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines. For those who are unaware, Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines are used to chop, mulch, and incorporate crop residue into the soil. Many types of machines come under CRM including- Shredder/mulcher, Happy seeder, Zero seed drill, Straw baler, Rotavator, etc.
As per TOI, the Punjab Government has already sanctioned 21,958 CRM machines. This year (in 2024), a total of 14,587 machines have been procured by the farmers. It means a total of 1.45 lakhs CRM machines have been procured since 2018. Now, procurement of such machines has started to produce results on the ground level. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Punjab's Agriculture Minister revealed that during the current year, the super seeder machine, with 9,010 units procured, is the most popular among the CRM machines. After the Super Seeder, there are Zero Till Drill (1,383), RMB Plough (627), Baler (595) and Rake (590).
As per Indian Express 2023 report, Himmat Singh, a farmer from Tarsikka block of Amritsar district, made a significant investment four years ago. He purchased the then newly launched “Happy Seeder” machine at a 50% subsidy (Rs 75,000) from the government under its Crop Residue Management (CRM) Machinery scheme.
Apart from the aforementioned types of machinery that are acting as stubble-burning alternatives, in 2020, a farmer from Mehatpur village used paddy stubble to make cardboard. The farmer is said to have been making cardboard since 2010. The use of paddy straw as a raw material in the making of cardboard not only gives it a better quality, but the production cost is also low.
With the state government reiterating and urging farmers not to burn stubble, a farmer from Mehatpur village has set an example by using paddy stubble for making cardboard since 2010. The use of paddy straw as a raw material in the making of cardboard not only gives it a better quality, but the production cost is also low. As per Tribune, Gurtej Singh, along with his two cousins Biranmol Singh and Paramvir Singh, started a small cardboard business in 2007. The unit is running at Kakran Kalan in the Shahkot block.