Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday wrote to the Prime Minister seeking a bonus of `100 per quintal on paddy, in addition to its MSP, as an incentive to dissuade farmers from burning the crops residue.
In his letter, the Chief Minister said the bonus would be given to only those farmers who manage paddy residue or stubble without burning it.
Capt Amarinder pointed out in his letter that he had made this request earlier also as a measure to compensate farmers for the additional burden of managing paddy residue.
Though the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy had been increased by `80 per quintal for Kharif-2017, the hike was not adequate to meet the additional cost of cultivation in terms of seeds and fertilisers, leave alone the extra expense of residue management, the chief minister said.
At present, the MSP of paddy for the 2016-17 fiscal is fixed at `1,470 for common grade and `1,510 for A-grade varieties..
Stubble burning is a major issue in the paddy cultivating regions and is currently under adjudication in the National Green Tribunal, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India, he said.
Acting on the various directives issued by the courts, the Punjab government has already initiated steps to check stubble burning, including grant of subsidy on purchase of agriculture machinery for crop residue management, a spokesman said.