Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh on Tuesday assured Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh that he would take up Punjab’s case for stubble management compensation with the Union Finance Ministry.
The assurance came during the meeting between the two at New Delhi on Tuesday. Capt Amarinder met the Union Minister to pursue the State’s request for compensation to farmers for paddy straw management, besides other agriculture related issues.
Expressing serious concern over the environmentally dangerous practice of stubble burning, Capt Amarinder reiterated his demand for payment of compensation at the rate of `100 per quintal for paddy straw management to curb burning of the paddy residue by the farmers.
“Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh extended his Ministry’s full support to Punjab in this regard, and on other agricultural issues, including water conservation…The Agriculture Minister told Capt Amarinder that he would take up Punjab’s case for stubble management compensation with the Union Finance Ministry,” said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office.
Capt Amarinder, earlier, told the Minister that the problem of stubble burning merited serious attention by the Central Government.
Pointing out that he had raised the issue even earlier, the Chief Minister urged the Union Minister to direct the concerned Ministry in the Central Government to provide for a bonus of `100 per quintal on procurement of paddy to provide an incentive to dissuade the farmers from burning the paddy straw. The bonus, of course, will be paid only to those farmers who manage the paddy residue or stubble without burning, he said.
Referring to the National Green Tribunal’s directive to the Punjab Government to ensure that no paddy straw is burnt by farmers, the Chief Minister said: “While the State had taken a number of measures, the Central Government needed to step in to curb the menace.”
Besides subsidising sale of agriculture machinery for crop residue management, the State Government was creating of awareness amongst the farmers on the issue, Capt Amarinder said while listing some of the initiatives being taken by his Government.
He further apprised the Union Minister that monitoring of straw burning was being done through Remote Sensing Satellites and field functionaries, but asserted that it was neither proper nor fair to penalise the farmers.
Even use of agriculture machinery supplied on subsidy puts an additional financial burden of `3,000 per acre on the farmers for the paddy straw management, Capt Amarinder pointed out, seeking urgent intervention of the union minister on the issue.
Spokesperson said that the Chief Minister also briefed the Union Minister on the status of the upcoming National Institute of Horticulture in Amritsar.
Capt Amarinder invited the Minister to lay the foundation stone of the institute, which is expected to be done during this calendar year. Classes at the institute are proposed to be started in a makeshift campus from the next academic session.