‘Comply with NGT directions on stubble burning’

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 16

Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office-bearers and volunteers of the Ludhiana urban and rural units lead by deputy opposition leader and MLA Sarvjit Kaur submitted a memorandum to the ADC at the Mini-Secretariat demanding proper arrangements to remove paddy stubble from fields of farmers or give them sufficient financial help as per the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). They also sought immediate end to the punitive action against farmers for burning stubble in their fields.

Prominent among others, who were present on the occasion, include MLA Jagtar Singh Jagga, AAP Ludhiana urban district president Daljit Singh Grewal, Ludhiana rural district president Ranjit Singh Dhamot, general secretaries Ahbaab Singh Grewal and Navjot Singh Jarg, state media team member Darshan Singh Shankar, Jiwan Singh Sangowal, Gurpreet Singh Lapran, Anil Dutt Falli, Sarbans Singh Manki and all members of the district body.

In the memorandum, AAP leaders demanded that the Captain-led government should comply with directions of the NGT on its part and provide top priority to remove paddy stubble from fields to save the environment.

AAP leaders criticised the government for failing to take any concrete steps in time. They said, “Now, when farmers are left with no option other than burning stubble in fields, the government machinery is unnecessarily harassing them by issuing notices of punitive action.”

Farmers in the state were already disappointed with the backtracking of the Congress government from the promise of complete loan waiver made during elections, they added. Now, the ruling dispensation was hell bent upon punishing them without any fault of theirs, they said.