The Union Minister Jitendra Singh reportedly voiced concern as well after Delhi recorded seven “extremely bad” air quality days in October of this year as opposed to none in October of 2021, according to the Ministry of Earth Science.
According to research conducted by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and India Meteorological Department under the auspices of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, there was a 160% and a 20% increase in the number of stubble-burning incidents in Rajasthan and Punjab, respectively, in October 2022 compared to October 2021.
In Punjab, he claimed, agricultural fires increased from 13,269 to 16,004 between October 2021 and October 2022, representing a 20% increase, while in Rajasthan, they increased from 124 to 318 over the same period, representing a 160% increase.
According to the Union Minister, “this suggests that the governments in the two States are not doing enough to stop stubble burning and are, on the contrary, increasingly contributing to the poor air quality in Delhi NCR.”
According to the Minister, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Earth Sciences India Meteorological Department (IMD), States like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have seen a steady drop in the number of stubble fire burning occurrences.
Such conclusions, he claimed, “suggest that either the governments in Rajasthan and Punjab are not concerned about air quality or they have not used the monies which were allocated by the Narendra Modi administration to acquire machinery for stubble management.
Singh said that the Centre has given States Rs 3,138 crore during 2018–19 for the management of stubble, of which over 1,500 crores was given to Punjab alone, under the directives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh continued, “It is up to the people to decide why, while many States have done a commendable job managing stubble and are gradually moving in positive directions, the States of Punjab and Rajasthan continue to show further deterioration, raising several questions about their intent, sincerity, and prosperity.
He further noted that within the same period, agricultural fire occurrences decreased by 30% and 38%, respectively, in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
“In October 2022, Haryana had 1,995 fire counts compared to 2,914 in October 2021. Similarly, UP recorded 768 fire counts in October, down from 1,060 instances in the same month in 2021 “Singh said.
According to the Union Minister, Punjab had a far higher fire count in the first five days of November than Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
“As an illustration, on November 5, there were 2,817 fires reported in Punjab and 91 in Rajasthan, respectively, as opposed to 90 in Haryana and 24 in Uttar Pradesh. On November 2, when Punjab led with 3,634 agricultural fire occurrences and Rajasthan reported up to 63, the greatest fire count for any single day was recorded “He said.
Singh said that the unprecedented spike in stubble-burning incidents in Punjab during the first five days of November is the only factor contributing to the air quality falling into the severe category.
He said that from November 1 to 5, Punjab recorded 13,396 fire counts, compared to 16,004 for the full month of October 2022.
The Air Quality Early Warning System has been put into operation by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology under the direction of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (AQEWS).
Stubble fire’s impact on the PM2.5 pollution level is calculated by AQEWS.
According to estimates, the contribution will be 9.7% on November 1, 7.4% on November 2, 32.0% on November 3, and 17.8% on November 4.
