Hry farm fire data highlights govt's lapses

HARSAC data reveals a season marked by a high incident count and monitoring failures, casting a doubt on the efficacy of state's efforts to curb crop residue burning

- Leena Dhankhar

[e-mail] ROHTAK/JIND/JHAJJAR: Despite repeated government assurances of robust control measures, Haryana recorded 1,828 farm fire complaints during the rabi season crop residue burning season that officially ended on May 31, exposing significant gaps in enforcement and compliance across the state.

Data from the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) reveals a season marked by high incident counts and monitoring failures, casting doubt on the efficacy of state-led efforts to curb crop residue burning.

Hindustan Times teams visited more than 20 villages in May and witnessed over 50 active fires in a single day across prominent agricultural districts including Jind, Sirsa, Jhajjar, Hisar, Rohtak, Rewari, Gurugram, Nuh, and Mahendragarh. In smaller villages, entire fields spanning hundreds of acres were visibly scorched, suggesting widespread disregard for crop residue management guidelines.

The agriculture department's Red Entry Summary Report recorded 2,301 confirmed fire incidents and 202 suspected cases across 18 districts as of May 3, 2025—figures that far exceed officially acknowledged complaint logs. Jhajjar district topped the list with 1,004 cases, followed by Jind (259) and Sirsa (158). Urbanised zones like Gurugram and Nuh reported zero incidents, suggesting either exceptional compliance or chronic underreporting.

Rabi crop residue burning, primarily involving wheat stubble after the April-May harvest, represents the lesser-known but significant second wave of agricultural fires that plague north Indian states annually.

Unlike the heavily scrutinised rice stubble burning in October-November—which coincides with winter air pollution peaks and garners widespread attention—wheat residue burning occurs during summer months when better wind dispersion often masks its environmental impact.