No funds from Centre to stop stubble burning: Punjab

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the Centre has denied the state government's proposal of contributing to the cash incentive to farmers for not burning stubble.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the major contributors to air pollution in the national capital region in October and November. Paddy farmers burn their fields in order to clear crop residue to grow wheat and potato. Punjab alone generates around 20 million tonnes of stubble every year.

The AAP government of Punjab had proposed to give Rs 2,500 per acre to paddy farmers. While Punjab and Delhi governments paid Rs 1,000 per acre, Centre was requested to pay Rs 1,500 per acre.

CM Mann in a video message said that the Punjab government had written to the Centre seeking help in the matter of stubble burning. "But the Centre has turned down our demand."

He further said that it does not matter and he has asked his officers to come up with another idea to deal with the problem. "If the central government is not supporting then it does not mean we will not do anything."

Speaking about the data on stubble burning in Punjab, the chief minister said paddy is sown on over 75 lakh acres. On 37 lakh acres, farmers manage stubble using machines. Mann said his government is arranging machines for the remaining 38 lakh acres. "More than one lakh crop residue management machines will be made available this season for managing stubble."

The Punjab government is also focusing on in-situ management (mixing crop residue in soil) of the paddy stubble scheme.