New Delhi: The burning of paddy crop residue, which has been the major cause of pollution in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, has declined by 41% across the region.
This decline can be attributed to the scheme - ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue', sanctioned by the central government with a budget of Rs 1151.8 crore.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) had further claimed that there has been a considerable reduction in crop residue burning incidents and 4500 villages in Punjab and Haryana have been declared 'Zero Stubble Burning Village' during 2018; as no burning incident was reported from these villages during the year .
Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, ICAR Director General Trilochan Mohapatra said that ICAR and Punjab Agricultural University have jointly developed agricultural devices for farmers, through which they can leave straw in the ground and sow crops without burning the remains.
After six years of extensive research, a total of eight agricultural machines have been developed out of which 'Happy Seeder' is a major device.
In the past few years, ICAR has been working under various schemes to spread awareness on technology and has been training the farmers to use them accordingly.
The Indian Government has also offered a subsidy of 50-80% under the scheme, under which the farmers are using the machinery quite extensively.
Mohapatra further added that if the efforts of the government and ICAR are proved right on the ground (taken in right spirit), then the people of Delhi and NCR will get a huge relief from the pollution caused by stubble burning in the coming days.
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