Punjab CM outlines govt's efforts for paddy straw management as stubble burning continues

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that the state government is committed to bailing out the farmers of the state from any sort of natural calamity and efforts are being made for paddy straw management.

The Chief Minister, during a meeting with the farmers here at Punjab Bhawan, said that the state government is not leaving any stone unturned for this cause.He also informed the farmers that the state government is making an all-out effort for paddy straw management.

"The farmers should support the state government for this noble cause by not burning the paddy straw. It is the need of the hour for protecting the environment of the state," said CM Mann. Informing that all the Deputy Commissioners have been directed to ensure proper assessment of the loss of farmers and said that the farmers will be duly compensated for their every loss.

The Chief Minister said that the farmers who have suffered a loss due to the attack of pink worms and others pests will also be duly compensated.

"The state government is fully committed to well being of the farmers of the state. It is the bounden duty of the government to help the farmers in this hour of crisis," he added. Dwelling on another issue, the Chief Minister said that every effort is being made to duly compensate the farmers while acquiring even an inch of their land.

The Chief Minister also reiterated the state government's firm commitment to procuring every single grain of the farmers in the grain markets (Mandis).

The Chief Minister also assured the farmers that the state government will send a detailed list of the cattle wealth that has fallen prey to Lumpy skin to the Government of India. He said that the state government will flag the issue of compensating the farmers who have lost their cattle wealth due to this disease with the union government.

Earlier, the farmers had demanded a compensation of Rs. 6,000 per acre or allocation of grains and seeds so that the problem of stubble is eliminated.The farmers also demanded the removal of red strikes in the revenue records and the FIRs against the farmers.

The stubble burning still continued in Amritsar on October 7 where farmers were seen burning the paddy straws in numbers.

Earlier on October 3, the Union Agriculture Ministry called upon state officials to chalk out a comprehensive action plan at the micro level for effective control of paddy stubble burning during the ensuing season. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, attended a farm demonstration on crop residue management at village Rangian in Kharar tehsil, Distt SAS Nagar, Punjab and interacted with farmers.

Another objective was to create awareness among stakeholders through demonstration, capacity-building activities and differentiated Information, Education and Communication strategies for effective utilization and management of crop residue.

To support the efforts of the Governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to address air pollution caused due to stubble burning and to subsidize machinery required for the management of crop residue, a Central Sector Scheme on Crop Residue Management (CRM) has been introduced with effect from 2018-19.

Under this scheme, financial assistance at 50 pc is provided to the farmers for the purchase of crop residue management machinery and at 80 pc is provided to Cooperative Societies, FPOs and Panchayats for the establishment of Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs).The Scheme promotes the usage of machines such as Super Straw Management Systems, Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Smart Seeder, zero till seed cum fertilizer drill, Mulcher, Paddy Straw Chopper, hydraulically reversible mould board plough, Crop reapers and Reaper binders for in-situ management of crop residue and Balers & Rakes which are used for straw collection in the form of bales for other ex-situ uses of straw. During the period from 2018-19 to 2021-22, Rs. 2440.07 crores (Punjab - Rs. 1147.62 crores, Haryana - Rs. 693.25 crores, Uttar Pradesh - Rs. 533.67 crores, NCT of Delhi - Rs. 4.52 Crores and ICAR- Rs. 61.01 crores) have been released.

During the current year, so far, a number of Rs. 240.00 crores, Rs. 191.53 crores, Rs. 154.29 crores and Rs. 14.18 crores have already been released to the States of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and ICAR, respectively. The total funds available with the States and ICAR for utilization during 2022-23 including the unspent balance of last year is Rs. 916 Crores.