Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann chalks out plan to check stubble burning
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said he has also asked the departments to ensure encouragement and recognition of panchayats and farmers who do not burn stubble
Amid unabated farm fire incidents in Punjab, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said he has decided to personally review the efforts in all the districts to check paddy straw burning.
Launching an eight-point programme, he called upon the officers to implement it in a result-oriented manner.
The state has witnessed another major spike in the stubble case as on Sunday, 1,761 farm fires were reported while the season’s total crossed 12,000 mark. With fall in the levels of air quality index (AQI), worries of the state government have mounted that forced the CM to actively address the matter.
“As a part of this plan, the state government has distributed 30,000 machines for in-situ management of the paddy straw, taking the total number of such machines to 1.2 lakh,” Mann said.
Meetings are being held by MLAs and senior officers in sensitive areas, he said.
Announcements from gurdwaras are being made and meetings with sarpanches and farmer unions are being held to sensitise people against straw burning, he added.
In the same manner, extensive involvement of the health and education department is being ensured in the campaign to sensitise people about hazardous efforts of farm fires, Mann said.
The chief minister said he has also asked the departments to ensure encouragement and recognition of panchayats and farmers who do not burn stubble. Mann asked the officials concerned to provide real-time data dissemination on daily stubble burning incidents for quick action and directed them to take severest of severe action against employees who pollute the environment.
“The time has come when every citizen should support the state government in making state clean, green and pollution free,” he added.
What’s in the eight-point programme
CM to personally review meetings
Optimum use of 1.2 lakh machines for crop residue management
MLAs to sensitise farmers at hotspots
Announcements from gurdwaras to motivate farmers against stubble burning
Health and education departments to run campaign against stubble burning
CM to seek support from citizens
Dissemination of real-time data on daily fire incidents for quick action
Severest of severe action against employees who pollute the environment.
