Around 1,500 farmers from Haryana have been fined a total of Rs 39.85 lakh for burning agricultural stubble between July to October this year, the government said.
The action was taken to dissuade farmers from burning agricultural waste. Burning of agricultural waste has been blamed for worsening air quality levels in national capital Delhi.
Air quality levels regularly hit the ‘hazardous’ level in Delhi on days of poor wind movement.
According to the environment ministry, a total of 12,606 cases of stubble burning was brought to the attention of the state government from July to October this year.
Out of this, 1,493 cases saw the imposition of fines.
In 236 cases, the government has filed First Information Reports or FIRs with the police.
Similar numbers are not available for Punjab, another agricultural state that sees massive fires set by farmers looking for a cheap way to clear their fields of rubble.
However, said the environment ministry, satellites were used to check for rubble burning in the state, which revealed that 42,337 fires were set by farmers in Punjab during the five months.
Separately, the government also said that various companies are likely to set up around 121 new CNG filling stations this financial year in nine states and territories, including Delhi.
At present, a total of 1,273 CNG stations are operational in India.
Compared to diesel, the use of CNG results in a reduction of 86% in carbon monoxide emissions, 58% cut the emission of nitrogen oxides and 97% reduction in the emission of fine dust or particulate matter.