On Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told media that the Central government has reportedly turned down the Punjab government's proposal of contributing to the cash incentive to farmers for not burning stubble.
This development follows the Punjab government's proposal to pay paddy farmers Rs.2,500 per acre. According to a report from PTI, the government had proposed that the Centre pay 1,500 per acre while Punjab and Delhi governments would be responsible for paying Rs.1,000 per acre.
It is important to note that the paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November as farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato. Additionally, Punjab also produces over 20 million tonnes of paddy straw each year.
In a video message on Saturday, the chief minister of Punjab stated, "We had written to the Centre that it should help us with the issue of stubble burning. But the Centre rejected our demand."
However, the chief minister of Punjab said it does not matter. If the central government is not supporting then it does not mean we will not do anything.
Bhagwant Mann also informed that he has asked his officers to come up with a different solution to address the issue. Mann shared some information about stubble burning and noted that 75 lakh acres of paddy are sown. He further said that farmers manage stubble across a 37 lakh acre area using machinery for crop residue management or other methods.
Mann said that the government is arranging equipment on a large scale for the remaining 38 lakh acres and that this season, more than one lakh crop residue management machines will be made available for controlling stubble.
It must be noted that the Centre gives funds for the provision of subsidized machines for the management of crop residue, as per the report, under the in-situ management (mixing crop residue in soil) of the paddy stubble scheme.
