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PUSA 44 paddy variety to be banned from next Kharif season: Punjab CM
After formally kick-starting the paddy procurement operations in the state from here, Mann also urged farmers to stop the practice of stubble burning.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the state government has decided to ban sowing of water-guzzling PUSA-44 variety of paddy crop from the next Kharif season.
After formally kick-starting the paddy procurement operations in the state from here, Mann also urged farmers to stop the practice of stubble burning.
He directed the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department to ensure smooth and hassle-free procurement during the current Kharif Marketing Season beginning on October 1.
“We are committed to procuring every single grain of the farmers and for the first time in the history of the state, lifting has started from the very first day which itself is a record” the chief minister said while interacting with the farmers.
CM reiterated that the procurement, lifting and payment will be done on the same day with digitisation of the entire process. He also started the new digital payment initiative with a click of the button and transferred the payment of paddy to a farmer. Urging the farmers to stop the cultivation of PUSA-44 and other related varieties of paddy, Mann said that the state government has already decided to ban these varieties from the next season.
“These water guzzling varieties takes maximum time to ripen and produce more stubble,” Mann said, adding that the problem of lifting will be resolved with use of the ultra-tech techniques such as GPS in trucks. He said that 654 new rice shellers have started their operation after the ease of norms by the state government.
Mann said that strict adherence to the prescribed norms of timely payment to the farmers would be ensured. He said Punjab has already received a cash credit limit of ₹37,000 crore for the ensuing paddy season before commissioning of the procurement.
Urging the farmers to shun the practice of stubble burning, the CM said that new equipment is being given to farmers for in-situ and ex-situ management of the crop residue. He said that the state government has already mandated brick kilns to use stubble as fuel as well as other plants to buy stubble from farmers. Mann demanded from the Union government to remunerative solutions for farmers to stop the practice of stubble burning.
The CM said that during the kharif season, a target of 182.10 lakh metric tonnes has been set by the state government. He said that out of this 173 lakh metric tonnes will be purchased by the state agencies. Mann said that the state government has 4.86 lakh bails of jute available with it adding that the rest will be managed by the millers.
