Karnal, Sept. 16 -- As paddy harvesting kicks-off in some parts of Haryana and procurement is likely to begin by month end, strict plans are underway by the state government to deal with the crop residue, which officials said is estimated to touch 80 lakh metric tonne.

On these lines, the agriculture department has identified over 8,200 district-wise nodal officers for crop residue management (CRM) for the season to cover nearly 6.19 lakh farmers across 22 districts in the state. According to the data as of Monday, 7,519 nodal officers from various departments have been appointed to cover 5.58 lakh farmers in 5,600 villages.

Data shows that 34.02 lakh total area was registered under paddy (basmati and non-basmati) in these villages with...