Advanced Arrangements in Place to Manage Paddy Straw Ahead of Harvesting: Gurmeet Singh Khudian

Chandigarh: The Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has made advanced arrangements to further reduce paddy straw burning incidents in the state ahead of the paddy harvesting season.

According to Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, the department has issued 6,377 sanction letters for 11,052 Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines to help farmers manage paddy straw effectively. Of these, 5,534 CRM machines have already been procured by farmers.

The Super Seeder machine leads the pack among CRM machines, with 4,945 sanction letters issued for this equipment. Additionally, sanction letters have been granted for other CRM machines, including the Zero Till Drill, Hydraulic Reversible MB Plough, Straw Rake, Bailing Machine, and Paddy Straw Chopper.

The Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government has devised a Rs 500 crore action plan to equip farmers with machinery and implement strategies to curb stubble burning in the state. The Agriculture department has received 21,830 applications from farmers, cooperative societies, and panchayats seeking subsidies for different CRM machinery during the Kharif season 2024-25.

To facilitate small and marginal farmers, 163 Customer Hiring Centres (CHCs) have been established across the state to provide access to CRM machinery for effective crop residue management post-paddy harvesting.

The state is providing 50% subsidy to individual farmers and 80% subsidy to farmer groups and cooperative societies on the purchase of CRM machines. S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian urged farmers to take maximum benefits of the subsidy and ensure optimum utilization of the machines to curb the stubble burning menace.