23200 crop residue management machines distributed in Punjab: Minister

Punjab government has distributed more than 23,200 machines for Crop Residue Management (CRM) to the state farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), panchayats and primary agricultural societies (PACS) under the scheme ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue’ during the kharif harvest of 2022.

Agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Sunday informed that the state government has distributed more than 23,200 machines for Crop Residue Management (CRM) to the state farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), panchayats and primary agricultural societies (PACS) under the scheme ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue’ during the kharif harvest of 2022.

The agriculture minister said that under this scheme till now, a total of 113,622 machines have been given which includes 90,422 machines in the last four years. (HT file photo)

According to Dhaliwal, the machines have helped state cut down 30 per cent decrease in the number of stubble burning cases during the kharif harvest in October-November months last year. In 2021 71,159 cases of paddy stubble burning were reported which came down to 49,922 in 2022.

Revealing further, the agriculture minister said that under this scheme till now, a total of 113,622 machines have been given which includes 90,422 machines in the last four years.

A subsidy of 50 per cent to 80 per cent was also offered to the farmers and the custom hiring centres, respectively, under this scheme. He said that the applications for the subsidy were called through an online portal to ease the procedure for availing this subsidy.

Dhaliwal adds that the agriculture department made efforts to set up custom hiring centers at each block wherein CRM machines would be available, especially for small and marginal farmers, for which state govt gave ₹ 7.4 crore.