Amid rising air pollution caused by the burning of crop residue, the Bihar government has decided to identify farmers who are indulging in this practice and put up their names at the block offices, officials said on Saturday.
Besides naming and shaming, directions have also been given to initiate action against such farmers under CrPC section 133 that deals with unlawful obstruction or nuisance, they said.
"The state government has banned crop residue burning to check air pollution and protect the fertility of the soil. It has issued a strict warning to farmers that if they indulge in stubble burning, financial assistance and subsidies under government schemes would be denied," Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvjeet told news agency PTI.
"The state offers electricity to farmers at a cheaper rate, and diesel at subsidised prices, among others. Therefore, farmers must take the matter seriously for the benefit of the people and also the environment," he added.
It was also decided at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Amir Subhani that the names of farmers who were earlier prosecuted for crop residue burning would be put up at the block offices, officials said.
Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) chairman Devendra Kumar Shukla said the decisions were taken to discourage farmers from stubble burning and harming the environment.
"The state government has taken several measures to discourage farmers from burning crop residues. The state government has undertaken awareness campaigns, and giving subsidies to farmers on various farm equipment," he said.
Poor air quality, especially during winter, in different cities of the state has always remained a matter of concern, he added.
Several farmers in Rohtas, Kaimur, Buxar, Nalanda, Gaya and Patna districts were penalised by the Agriculture Department in April for violating norms related to crop residue burning.
The highest number of such cases were reported from Rohtas at 1,298, followed by Kaimur (438 cases) and West Champaran (279 cases).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced in the assembly on Wednesday that the Delhi government will introduce a new policy for issuing Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates to vehicles from other states, in a bid to tackle air pollution.
Children exposed to higher levels of air pollution in early and mid-childhood may have weaker connections between key brain regions that can highly impact their thinking and controlling capacity, according to a study.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa has accused Arvind Kejriwal's AAP - in power before the BJP won the February election - of allowing more than 1.08 lakh vehicles to run on city roads despite each emitting high levels of carbon monoxide.
An integrated command and control centre has been proposed in the 2025-26 Delhi budget, presented by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday, for real-time monitoring of air quality, water pollution, noise levels, and waste management.
As part of broader strategy to tackle the expected winter pollution peak, the Delhi government will install six new air quality monitoring stations across the national capital over the next three months, Environment Minister said.
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