To tackle paddy stubble burning, Capt wants bonus for farmers from Modi
CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking incentive for farmers to dissuade them from burning paddy straw.
He sought a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal over and above the MSP to help farmers deal with the problem. This is Captain’s second letter to the PM in this regard.
The bonus would compensate the farmers for the additional burden of disposal of paddy straw. In the letter, Amarinder said farmers resort to burning of stubble —estimated to be 20 million tonnes every cropping season — due to the short span of time available to them to prepare the land for sowing the next crop.
They neither have the financial resources nor the requisite manpower to manage such a huge stock of paddy in about the three weeks they get to sow the next crop, he added.
The chief minister also cited the judgments of the National Green Tribunal, pointing out that the tribunal had directed the state government to ensure that no paddy straw is burnt by farmers. It has also directed that the farmers who burn paddy straw should be penalised.
The state has initiated a number of measures to check stubble burning. These include subsidy on sale of agriculture machinery for crop residue management, creation of awareness amongst the farmers, monitoring of straw burning through remote-sensing satellites and the field functionaries, added the letter. However, Captain said it was neither proper nor fair to penalise the farmers. Further, even use of agriculture machinery supplied on subsidy puts an additional financial burden of ₹3,000 per acre on farmers for paddy straw management, he added.
The CM also stressed that diversification could make a major contribution in minimising the stubble-burning issue.