No less than 12 districts of Punjab and Haryana the biggest contributors to the food basket of India covering three lakh acres of farmland of 50,000 farmers in 300 villages has resulted in over 84 per cent reduction in stubble burning this season. Thanks to the Crop Residue Management (CRM) project a community-driven initiative of CII Foundation launched initially in 19 villages in 2018, covering 16,000 acres of farmland in Punjab under its Cleaner Air, Better Life initiative.
Under the project, the farmers are advised and supported to adopt the Environment-friendly alternatives through interventions focused on creating awareness about the hazards of stubble burning, offering them viable alternatives, and supporting them in adopting those viable alternatives, said the spokesperson for the Confederation of Indian (CII).
In 2021, the project covered 226 villages and two lakh acres and resulted in 84 per cent reduction in stubble burning in the intervened farmlands.