The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reaffirmed on Tuesday that, in addition to obtaining substitute crops at the minimum support price (MSP) to encourage crop diversification, the Centre and Haryana should establish a fund to tackle stubble burning.
The state government has implemented measures such as prohibiting the long-duration paddy variety Pusa-44, giving farmers access to crop residue management (CRM) equipment, and encouraging crop diversification in the state by endorsing cotton, according to AAP chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang.
Delhi-NCR air pollution: Punjab, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh governments are asked by the Supreme Court to put an end to stubble burning, saying that “something has to be done immediately.”
“The Center should now ensure that cotton and sugarcane are purchased at MSP,” he said.
Kang said that in recent months the Punjab government has made efforts to increase canal-based irrigation by 15 percent so that groundwater can be conserved. “Farmers of Punjab produce paddy to fill the food bowl of the country and it is supplied to other states. The state took the lead during the Green Revolution,” he said.
“Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have asked the Haryana government and the Modi government to set up a fund to deal with this problem, but the Center has rejected the proposal. Now the Supreme Court has directed all governments including the Central Government to stop stubble burning and take steps to curb pollution in Delhi.
Last year, the Center had rejected the Punjab government’s proposal of cash incentive to farmers to stop them from burning paddy stubble, arguing that the proposal was ‘a negative incentive prone to misuse’.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 7, issued strict directives to the governments of Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana to cease farmers’ stubble burning immediately due to the worsening air quality in the Delhi-National Capital Region.
Kang asserted that the number of stubble burning incidents has decreased by 70% in the past two years and that Punjabi farmers cannot be held solely accountable for Delhi’s pollution problem because UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, and the Centre must also take the required action. Reduce the issue of burning stubble.
“Since the formation of our government in Punjab, the Mann government has been continuously taking steps to curb this issue. stubble burning in punjabTheir efforts are also showing results as the cases of stubble burning have reduced significantly this year.”
“MSP of other crops like cotton, maize, citrus fruits and pulses should be ensured so that farmers have options other than paddy and wheat. The central government should also set up a much-needed fund to deal with this issue,” he said.
Kang said taking punitive action against farmers violating the norms would be the last resort and it was necessary in cases like Bathinda where an officer was forced to set fire to paddy straw by a group of farmers.
