To manage stubble, 900 centres to be developed

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 22

To manage crop residue effectively, the Agriculture Department will develop 900 custom-hiring centres across the state.

Under this programme, subsidy will be extended to farmers on agricultural implements being used for the management of stubble.

This initiative is being taken by the state government under the In-Situ Crop Residue Management Scheme of the Union Government to encourage farmers to stop stubble burning.

The burning of crop residue in fields after harvesting of crops is a punishable offence as it emits harmful gases.

Of the total proposed custom-hiring centres, as many as 120 are being developed in Karnal, 112 in Kaithal, 100 in Kurukshetra, 90 in Jind, 60 each in Sonepat, Ambala and Yamunanagar, 50 each in Fatehabad, Sirsa and Panipat, 40 in Jhajjar, 30 each in Bhiwani and Rohtak, 25 in Palwal, 10 in Hisar, five each in Rewari and Faridabad and three in Panchkula.

As many as 28 centres are already in working in Karnal. For the 120 centres here, as many as 154 groups of farmers had applied with the Agriculture Department.

A lucky draw was conducted few days back and centres were allotted to 71 groups of farmers. The remaining would be developed in the coming days through a lucky draw system, said Aditya Dabas, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA).

He said that scores of farmers’ groups have been working under this project across the state for the effective management of stubble so that pollution could be controlled.

“These groups of farmers will set an example for others not to burn stubble. Instead, with the help of agricultural equipment, stubble should be used as manure after decomposition,” the DDA said.

Farmers will get a subsidy of 50 per cent on stubble management equipment while the custom-hiring centres will get a subsidy of 80 per cent.

Various latest agricultural equipment such as mulcher, bailer, reversible plough, happy seeder, paddy straw chopper, shedder, shrub master, cutter-cum-spreader, zero till, seed till and rotavator and others will be provided on subsidy.

Farmers who have become part of the centres are happy with the subsidy. “I became a member of the Sikri Krishak Samuh in November and got huge subsidy on tractor, plough and other equipment,” said Vishal Kumar, member of the Sikri Krishak Samuh.