Taking Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to task over his government’s failure to provide straw burning equipment to the farmers, Punjab Congress on Sunday accused him of spoiling the environment of the state after vitiating its political atmosphere.
With farmers resorting to stubble burning in the absence of the necessary equipment to get rid of the paddy residue, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) demanded to know where Rs 10 crore, sanctioned to the state government for the machines, has gone.
Citing media reports, PPCC leaders Rana Gurjit Singh, Ajaib Singh Bhatti and Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, in a joint statement, pointed out that the funds have reportedly not even reached the state government. “Or if they have reached the government, the question arises where the money has disappeared,” they added, charging the Badal government of siphoning off the funds.
PPCC leaders said that in any case amount of Rs 10 crore was quite insufficient considering the huge requirement of straw burning machines required by the state’s farmers.
With nearly 30 lakh hectares under paddy production, Punjab needs a large number of machines to curb the burning of stubble, they said. Congress leaders said that since stubble burning has serious consequences for the environment, state authorities, including the Punjab Pollution Control Board, initiate a public awareness exercise every year to check the trend.