In its campaign to douse the problem of stubble burning, Punjab Government has now made its employees accountable to check the menace. The Government has issued detailed instructions to the entire staff of departments, boards, or corporations, and cooperative societies making them accountable for burning any paddy straw on the farms owned or cultivated by them.
The state nodal officer of anti-stubble burning campaign Kahan Singh Pannu informed that Punjab Government has issued instructions to all departments that in addition to ensuring that they themselves do not indulge in straw burning, these employees have also been directed to create awareness amongst the farmers about the ill-effects of stubble burning causing irreversible damage to nature, environment and human health.
He said that in case any employee fails to comply with these directions, disciplinary proceedings would be initiated against such delinquent employees.
“These officials have also been mandated to bring to the notice of the concerned authorities about any incident of stubble burning across the state,” he said.
Notably, the State Government has already embarked upon a programme for management of paddy straw, without burning, by the farmers. As many as 24,315 subidized agro-machines or equipments are being supplied to the farmers, Cooperative Societies and Custom Hiring Centres to achieve zero burning of paddy straw.
About 8,000 village level nodal officers have been deputed to create awareness against stubble burning amongst farmers.
Paddy is grown on 65 lakh acres of land in Punjab. After harvesting paddy, about 20 million tonnes of paddy straw is left in the fields to be managed by the farmers before sowing the next Rabi crops. It is estimated that 15 million tonnes of paddy straw is burnt by farmers for early and easy clearance of the fields.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had recently written a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Rs 100 per quintal as compensation only for those farmers who abstain from burning paddy residue under the State Government’s ambitious programme for management of paddy straw.
KHAIRA SLAMS PUNJAB GOVT FOR PENALISING FARMERS
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Tuesday slammed Capt Amarinder Singh led Punjab Government for “vindictively” penalising farmers for stubble burning to hide its own failure on the issue.
Deploring Amritsar District Administration for challaning 101 farmers in the past three days for flouting the ban on burning of crop residue in their fields, Khaira said that the Administration has imposed a fine of Rs 2.56 lakhs on the farmers for no fault of theirs.
“Although I stand for clean environment and do not support burning of stubble, but the farmers have no option, as the Government has completely failed to provide machinery, subsidy or financial assistance to them to consume the straw in the fields instead of burning,” he said.