Stubble burning: Beware! Violators to have red entry in revenue records

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 16

The Deputy Commissioner has asked the Revenue Department officials to make red entry in the revenue record of farmers, who flout ban on burning of crop residue in fields. 

The instructions are aimed at deterring farmers from burning stubble, which causes pollution. 

Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira held a meeting with all 47 cluster officers and tehsildars from the district to issue directions to check stubble burning. He asked officials to coordinate with panchayats at village level and persuade farmers not to flout the ban orders. 

He said no government employee, panchayat member and nambardar in the district would burn stubble in their fields. 

Anil Sood, a scientist with Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana, who attended the meeting apprised the officials about the working of mobile application developed by it to make field officials aware about the field fires in their respective areas. 

The Agriculture Department officials said machines as Happyseeder, Superseeder, Super SMS, Paddy Chopper, Mulcher, Zero Till Drill have been provided to farmers at subsidised cost in the last three years. The government has provided 753 machines to individual farmers on 50 per cent subsidy and 946 machines to custom hiring centres or farmer groups and 650 machines to cooperative societies on 80 per cent subsidy. 

Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Ruhi Dug said smoke emitted from burning stubble in fields can prove problematic for the general public, especially Covid patients. She said all efforts would be made to check the practice to save environment from pollution.