Balers worth ₹3 crore distributed in Moga to curb paddy stubble burning

The baler machines, purchased under the Niti Aayog’s aspirational district programme, were given to co-operative societies of 10 select villages

With a view to curbing stubble burning in the district, Moga administration has distributed 20 balers worth ₹3 crore for management of paddy straw.

The administration claims that Moga is the first district of Punjab to purchase baler for farmers to compress paddy stubble.

The baler machines, purchased under the Niti Aayog’s aspirational district programme, were given to co-operative societies of 10 select villages. The administration also claimed that Moga is the first district of Punjab which has purchased such implements for farmers. Other districts were providing subsidy to farmers for procurement of balers.

Deputy commissioner Sandeep Hans said they are providing all possible assistance to the farmers for the proper management of paddy straw.

”In the aspirational district programme rankings, released by the NITI Aayog recently, Moga was included in the list of the 5 most ambitious districts of the country under which an amount of ₹3 crore was released,” he said.

58 hotspot villages

The administration has identified 58 villages that witness most stubble burning incidents after the paddy harvesting season. Hans said, “We have deployed a nodal officer each for all these villages to keep a check and run awareness programmes.”