New Delhi/Chandigarh: The Punjab and Delhi governments have joined hands to combat stubble burning by managing the straw in the fields by spraying Pusa bio decomposer on 5000 acres in Punjab as a pilot project.
In a press statement, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that high-level meetings were held in New Delhi on the issue. Earlier in the day, Dhaliwal had met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the management of the pollution caused by stubble burning in New Delhi who assured full support to him. Later, he held deliberations with Delhi's Agriculture Minister Gopal Roy. He said that this project would be done jointly by the governments of both states.
The Agriculture Minister said that under the process, Pusa bio decomposer will be sprayed on the stubble following which the stubble gets mixed in the soil hence the farmers will not need to burn the stubble. He said that the Punjab government has made adequate preparations to prevent the pollution caused by paddy stubble under which types of equipment are being provided to the farmers on subsidy, awareness drives and surveillance teams have been formed in all districts.
Targeting Union Government for turning down cash incentive proposal to farmers for not burning stubble, he called the step anti-farmer, anti-Punjab and said that the state government had proposed to give Rs 2,500 per acre to paddy growers suggesting that the Centre will pay Rs 1,500 per acre while Rs 1,000 per acre will be borne by Punjab and Delhi governments. He said that a massive awareness drive would be launched in the rural belt of Punjab comprising officials of Rural Development and Panchayat, PPCB, and others to persuade farmers to manage the stubble.
Dhaliwal urged the farmers to give fulsome support to the government to protect our land, air, and water from pollution so that our future generations can enjoy a lean environment.
In the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary Agriculture Sarvjit Singh, Dr. Loveleen Shukla, Dr. Sunil Pabi, Dr. K. Annapurna, and Vivek Kumar Tripathi were also present.