Hindustan Times ·
Haryana deploys 7,500 nodal officers as paddy harvesting kicks off
Farmers in 648 villages of Yamunanagar, highest in the state, grew paddy on 2.06 lakh acres of land and 646 nodal officers have been appointed here against the requirement of 734
As paddy harvesting kicks-off in some parts of Haryana and procurement is likely to begin by month end, strict plans are underway by the state government to deal with the crop residue, which officials said is estimated to touch 80 lakh metric tonne.
On these lines, the agriculture department has identified over 8,200 district-wise nodal officers for crop residue management (CRM) for the season to cover nearly 6.19 lakh farmers across 22 districts in the state. According to the data as of Monday, 7,519 nodal officers from various departments have been appointed to cover 5.58 lakh farmers in 5,600 villages.
Data shows that 34.02 lakh total area was registered under paddy (basmati and non-basmati) in these villages with maximum 3.83 lakh acres in Karnal, followed by Kaithal, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts.
Kurukshetra deputy director of agriculture (DDA) Girish Nagpal said that around 580 nodal officers have been appointed in the district and one officer has been given the responsibility of at least 100 farmers.
“These officers will inform the farmers about the punitive action of stubble burning, educate them about the ill-effects of burning and co-ordinate with the department to ensure availability of machines such as paddy straw choppers, super seeders or happy seeders. Harvesting is currently at initial stage and started only in some areas of Shahabad,” he said.
Apart from this, Nagpal said that the department has also deployed four awareness-cum-enforcement vans which are making rounds in various parts of the district.
Kurukshetra is one of the major rice-growing districts with nearly 51,000 farmers in 416 villages engaged in paddy production on 2.79 lakh acres of land.
The state offers an incentive of ₹1,200 per acre to farmers for the in-situ management of paddy residue, where harvested stalks are chopped into small pieces and incorporated into the soil using machines and in ex-situ management, when the crop residue is removed from the field and sold.
In Karnal with maximum area under paddy, the department has stepped-up efforts to control the incidents of crop residue burning and subsequently polluting skies. Officials said that they will start receiving satellite images showing active fire locations (AFLs) starting Monday.
Karnal DDA Jaswinder Saini said that with an aim to spread awareness about the ill-effect of stubble burning, the has conducted several outreach programmes in schools and colleges.
“The campaign focuses on students of senior secondary, who are informed about the harmful effects on soil fertility, air and overall public health, so they can forward the information to their families,” he said.
Karnal DC Anand Kumar Sharma will on Thursday chair an outreach session with over 650 nodal officers to ensure zero cases of stubble burning in the district. “Apart from this, we will ensure strict action, and if farmers are found burning stubble, they will face an FIR, a penalty ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹30,000 and a red entry on the portal,” Sharma said.
Ambala DC Sachin Gupta said that they are confident that the farmers will cooperate and ensure that there is no incident of residue burning in the district this season. Last year, the state witnessed a decrease of 53% in farm fires as only 662 incidents were reported compared to 1,406 in 2024.
- Bhavey Nagpal is a staff correspondent based at Karnal. He reports on crime, politics, agriculture, health, railways and migration for northern Haryana districts. He has a special interest for heritage and human interest stories. He has reported extensively on farmer's agitation against the agricultural laws.Read More