Paddy burning incidents reduced significantly: Govt.

New Delhi: The government on Friday said the active paddy burning incidents in North Indian states have significantly reduced in 2021.
In a release, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change noted that 1,795 counts of paddy burning were recorded in Punjab, Haryana and 8 NCR Districts of Uttar Pradesh as against 4,854 such instances during the corresponding period in 2020.
“No fire counts have been reported from Delhi and two NCR Districts of Rajasthan,” the government said in a statement.
The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has been actively monitoring paddy residue burning events from 15th September 2021 onwards.
“As per the report based on the protocol framed by ISRO for the Commission, paddy residue burning events have been reduced by 69.49 percent in Punjab, by 18.28 percent in Haryana and by 47.61 percent in the 8 NCR Districts of Uttar Pradesh during the one-month period compared to the same period last year,” the release by the Ministry said.
It said during one month period of the current year, the total reported residue burning events in Punjab were 1286 as against 4216 for the same period during last year.
Similarly, in respect of Haryana, the reported stubble burning incidents were 487 as against 596 for the corresponding period last year.
“In the 8 NCR Districts of Uttar Pradesh, the total stubble fire incidents reported during this period are 22 as against 42 for the corresponding period of last year,” the government claimed.
The major hotspots of paddy residue burning in the state of Punjab are Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala and Ludhiana.
These four districts account for 72 percent of stubble burning events, said the release.
Similarly, the major hotspots in Haryana are Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra. These three districts account for 80 percent of the stubble burning incidences.
“The first paddy residue burning was reported on 16th September in Punjab, 28th September in Haryana and 18th September in the NCR area of Uttar Pradesh” It said.
UNI