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Punjab govt signs pact with Deloitte to scale up crop residue management initiatives
The MoU was signed between the executive director, Deloitte, Vivek Mittal, and commissioner, agriculture, Babita, in the presence of agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and health and family welfare minister Balbir Singh.
The Punjab government on Monday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Deloitte to provide technical assistance for scaling up successful crop residue management initiatives.
The MoU was signed between the executive director, Deloitte, Vivek Mittal, and commissioner, agriculture, Babita, in the presence of agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and health and family welfare minister Balbir Singh.
This partnership comes in the backdrop of a highly successful pilot project implemented by Deloitte last year in 17 villages of the Patiala district, which witnessed a remarkable reduction of over 80% in farm fire incidents.
Divulging details about the programme, Khudian said that Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities through village-level meetings and door-to-door awareness campaigns will be conducted and a digital awareness van with motivational videos and promoting the mascot “Unnat Singh,” a progressive farmer, will visit different villages to sensitise farmers. Apart from merchandise, including T-shirts, calendars, cups and tote bags, with innovative slogans will be distributed, he said.
He said that a user-friendly ‘Krishi Yantra Saathi’ (KYS) mobile application for easy farm equipment booking and scheduling is also being launched under this programme.
“The smoke from stubble burning severely impacts the air quality, leading to a rise in respiratory and other health problems among our citizens. The proven success in Patiala demonstrates a viable model to protect both the environment and the health of our people,” he said.
