Chandigarh: In order to curb the paddy straw burning incidents and manage the crop residue effectively this harvest season, the Punjab agriculture department would provide more than 24,000 crop residue management (CRM) machines at subsidised prices to farmers of the state.
Punjab agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said on Wednesday that in a positive change, the department had received over 1.58 lakh applications from farmers to avail subsidy on CRM machinery and that the sanction letters to the selected beneficiaries had been released through an online portal.
He said that the department would provide Super SMS, Happy seeder, Paddy Straw Chopper, Mulcher, Smart Seeder, Zero Till Drill, Surface Seeder, Super Seeder, Crop Reaper, Shrub Master/Rotary Slasher, Reversible MB Plough for In-situ and Baler and Straw Rake for Ex-situ management of paddy residue.
₹350 Crore to Tackle Crop Residue Burning
Stating that the state was able to cut down stubbing burning cases by 30% last year with the use of CRM machines, he said that Rs 350 crore had been kept reserved to curb the crop residue burning incidents during the current year.
Khudian said that the agriculture department was also making concerted efforts to set up custom hiring centers at each block, wherein CRM machines would be available for small and marginal farmers.
50% Subsidy to Individual Farmers
“The state government has been providing 80% subsidy for establishment of custom hiring centers on the purchase of CRM machines, while 50% subsidy is being offered to individual farmers,” he said.
The minister said that the government had also been proactively taking steps to address the problem of stubble burning and the department had also launched an information education and communication drive to educate and train farmers about available technologies for management of crop residue.
