Punjab seeks ₹70 crore from Centre for baler machine subsidy
CHANDIGARH : Punjab agriculture department has demanded more money from the Centre, to the tune of around Rs 70 crore, to provide balers and rake machines for ex- situ ( away from where the stubble exists) management of paddy straw to farmers in the state. The money will be given as subsidy to agriculture groups, village cooperative groups and custom hiring centres.
Farmers are increasingly selling paddy stubble, after baling it, to generate extra income. A quintal of straw sells at Rs 130 and each acre gives 17-18 quintal of straw.
“There is a demand for 1,100 balers and rake machines in the current season. We have already given 440 machine combinations of these machines. The combination of the two machines costs Rs 15 lakh and the government subsidy is Rs 12 lakh,” said director agriculture Rajesh Vashisht, adding that Rs 70 crore was required to meet this demand.
The demand is coming from Moga, Abohar, Fazilka, Mansa and Barnala, the catchment areas for fuel for bio- mass plants. On the stubble burning front, the situation is worrisome as the number of farm fires have already 10,000; four times last year’s cases in the corresponding period. After the Supreme Court took notice of a jacket of smog engulfing the skies of national capital at the onset of winters four years ago, a proposal was cleared by the PMO for giving machines on subsidy for in-situ management of paddy stubble. Though there is no evidence to prove that the smog over the national capital is because of from fires in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the Centre thinks ending stubble burning in these states is the solution. Vashisht added some funds are given to farm groups and custom hiring centres a from sub- mission on agricultural machines ( SMAM), of which Rs 285 crore had been disbursed, against the allocated Rs 239 crore. He added farmers did not like the scheme, as it offered subsidy of only 40%.
At least 168 lakh tonne of paddy straw is produced along with the grain. Of this, 24.5 lakh tonne is used as fodder for milch animals and 9 lakh tonne goes to 11 biomass power projects. After other uses are exhausted, the challenge before farmers and the government is to manage 68 lakh tonne.
The state government claims it has made arrangement to manage the entire quantity of stubble by providing 50,815 machines. These machines were given to individual farmers and 7,378 custom hiring centres.