Task force constituted to check stubble burning in Malerkotla dist

Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh,

September 22

Having formed a task force of 24 cluster heads and 179 nodal officers to check stubble burning in Malerkotla district, Deputy Commissioner Amrit Kaur Gill has directed the rank and file in the administration to ensure that no farmer of the region burns agricultural waste during the forthcoming paddy harvesting season.

The designated staff from the Punjab Pollution Board, Cooperative, Rural Development and Panchayat, Agricultural and Horticulture and Soil Conservation departments is being imparted special online training for tracking incidents of violation on the ATR app and initiation of further preventive and punitive action.

The administration has also identified vulnerable villages after studying past year trends wherein major losses had occurred due to willful and accidental stubble burning incidents at targeted localities. The DC said burning of agricultural waste and stubble had been banned in pursuance of various sections of the Prevention and Control of Pollution Act 1981.

“It has been observed that during the paddy harvesting season some farmers’ burn stubble to clear their fields for the next crop. This causes degradation of soil due to burning of beneficial humus, worms and microorganisms, besides causing threat to life and property of neighbours and passersby on link roads,” the DC said while maintaining that the rank and file in Mandi Ahmedgarh, Amargarh and Malerkotla subdivisions had been asked to ensure zero tolerance in violation of prohibitory orders in their respective segments.