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MP Pathak raises issue of stubble burning in Parliament
Pathak said farmers are blamed for burning crop residue, whereas some farmers burn stubble not out of hobby but out of compulsion
Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha member from Punjab Dr Sandeep Pathak on Thursday raised the issue of stubble burning, in the Parliament and made an appeal to the Centre to cooperate with the Punjab government for a solution.
Pathak said farmers are blamed for burning crop residue, whereas some farmers burn stubble not out of hobby but out of compulsion. “Governments are clearly responsible for this. The biggest solution to stop stubble burning is that the government should provide proper financial assistance to the farmers,” he said.
The AAP leader said the Punjab government had proposed to give ₹1,000 per acre to the farmers of the state for stubble and appealed to the Centre to also give ₹1,500 per acre. “If the Centre agrees, then farmers will get ₹2,500 per acre and this problem will be solved soon,” he said.
Pathak said another solution to the problem is crop diversification but the MSP for other kharif crops is very low as compared to paddy and due to this, farmers prefer to cultivate paddy. He claimed that the difference between the MSP for other crops and paddy will be compensated by the state government. “If the Centre also brings a plan to equalise the MSP, then better results can be seen,” he said.
