AAP flays Centre for doubling penalty on stubble burning

AAP senior leader and spokesperson Neel Garg stated that farmers in Punjab were already facing financial hardship, and the central government, on top of that now, doubled the fine on them for stubble burning.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday criticised the central government’s decision to double the fine for stubble burning.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday criticised the central government’s decision to double the fine for stubble burning. (PTI File)

AAP senior leader and spokesperson Neel Garg stated that farmers in Punjab were already facing financial hardship, and the central government, on top of that now, doubled the fine on them for stubble burning. “This has come at a time when the Punjab government had sought ₹1,200 crore from the central government to tackle this issue, which was not approved,” he said, questioning why the Centre had refused to provide this assistance if they were genuinely concerned about stubble burning.

Garg stated that due to the efforts of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and the AAP government, the number of incidents of stubble burning in Punjab got significantly reduced over the past three years. If the Centre had provided the requested financial support, these incidents would have dropped even further, he claimed. “Punjab’s farmers are seeking resources for stubble management and even want alternatives to paddy cultivation,” he said, claiming, “If there was a guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for alternative crops, they would stop growing paddy altogether.” Calling the increase in fine a method to “intimidate” the farmers of Punjab, the AAP appealed to the central government to stop “troubling” farmers and instead offer support.