Punjab engages farmers to control stubble burning

CHANDIGARH: On Thursday, Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann emphasised the importance of environmental protection while stating that his administration was exerting every effort to control paddy stubble burning. He also asked farmers for their help.

The chief minister met with a number of farmer organisations on Thursday and heard their demands, which included paying Rs. 6,000 per acre for managing stubble, raising the price of cane, and compensating dairy farmers whose livestock had the lumpy skin condition. One of the causes of the severe increase in air pollution levels in the nation’s capital in October and November is the burning of paddy straw in Punjab and Haryana.

Farmers burn the stubble on their farms to swiftly burn off the crop residue because the window for the Rabi crop wheat is very small after the paddy harvest. Around 180 lakh tonnes of paddy straw is produced annually in Punjab.

After the meeting, Mann spoke with media and responded to a query on the farmers’ demand of Rs 6,000 per acre for the management of stubble. Mann said a total of 1.22 lakh crop residue management machines have been made accessible to farmers in the current season. Additionally, a smartphone app has been created so that farmers can learn about the machines that are available for managing paddy straw within a two- to three-kilometer range.

Out of the 75 lakh acres of total paddy land, he claimed that only 35 lakh acres of stubble were ever burned. The crop residue is burnt over 40 lakh acres of land. He argued that farmers should support the state government in this admirable endeavour since environmental protection is urgently needed.