Relevance : GS Paper III (Ecology & Environment)
[900 words reduced to 150]
- Air pollution in north India has largely been attributed to stubble burning.
- Farmers are held responsible for the crisis but policies of the Central and State governments are at fault.
- How to tackle stubble burning?
- crop diversification towards less water-intensive crops
- strengthen the production and marketing of alternative crops
- providing farmers an investment support and withdraw price-based support
- an app-based support system, to rent out tractors and farm implements
- effective use of paddy straw
- framers should be given options such as biomass generation
- use of geospatial techniques to identify areas where stubble burning is severe
- encourage installation of biomass plants in areas of high stubble burning
- Incentivize farmers to sell the residual for additional income
- Incidents of stubble burning can be averted by long-term vision and strategic policy interventions.
