To stop stubble burning, PM asks agri ministry to provide equipment

NEWDELHI: To tackle stubble burning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday directed the agriculture ministry to distribute equipment on a priority basis to farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

This is PM Modi’s first direct intervention on the issue of air pollution in Delhi-ncr. The PM had conducted a review meeting on Tuesday on air pollution in the northern states. Stubble burning by farmers in these three states, especially Punjab, has been identified as a major cause of air pollution in the Delhi-ncr region.

On Wednesday, the PM chaired the 31st interaction through PRAGATI — the ICT based multi-modal platform for Pro-active Governance and Timely Implementation. During the meeting, the Prime Minister was informed about the progress in National Agriculture Market platform which has helped in better price discovery.

Modi was also briefed about the progress in National Agriculture Market platform which has helped in better price discovery. “E-payments are now being made directly into the account of farmers. Progress in the development of two integrated e-mandis in Jammu and Kashmir was also reviewed,” a spokesman said.

PM Modi fixed the 2020 deadline for the ambitious project connecting Srinagar to Indian Railways network. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam also participated in the video conference as the prime minister reviewed nine projects related to 16 states. Modi He also stressed that young officers must be deployed in aspirational districts.