Punjab Government on Tuesday deputed 10 senior Administrative Secretaries to effectively check the menace of stubble burning by sensitising and motivating all stakeholders against the harmful practice, besides taking stock of paddy procurement operation on daily basis.
Informing this, the State Nodal Officer for anti-stubble burning campaign Kahan Singh Pannu said that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had issued directives to all agencies and officials engaged for this gigantic task to ensure smooth and seamless operations of paddy procurement.
He said that elaborate arrangements have been made for procuring expected 200 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in a prompt and hassle-free manner besides ensuring basic amenities to facilitate farmers in the state mandis.
Pannu said that the Chief Minister had asked the senior administrative secretaries to effectively coordinate to contain the stubble burning in districts allotted to them.
As per the orders, Additional Chief Secretary (Taxation) MP Singh and Technical Education Secretary DK Tiwari would coordinate the campaign to sensitise the farmers in districts of Kapurthala, Jalandhar, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur, while Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Viswajeet Khanna and PWD Secretary Hussan Lal would oversee the campaign in Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala and Mansa districts.
Additional Chief Secretary (Sports) Sanjay Kumar and Water Supply and Sanitation Secretary Jaspreet Talwar will monitor all activities to stop stubble burning in the districts of Ludhiana, Moga, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ropar and Mohali; whereas Financial Commissioner (Rural Development and Panchayats) Anurag Verma and Registrar Cooperative Societies Vikas Garg will oversee the operation in districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Pathankot and Gurdaspur.
Principal Secretary Science Technology RK Verma and Secretary Agriculture and Commissioner Food and Drug Administration KS Pannu will supervise operations in this regard in the districts of Bathinda, Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts.
The teams would start visiting their respective districts from October 4 onwards, he added.