Chandigarh, September 30: With paddy ready for harvest, the Punjab government has directed the procurement agencies to ensure prompt lifting of the crop from markets.
Also, to curb the menace of stubble burning, the State has decided to appoint nodal officers in 8,000 paddy growing villages. The villages have been identified by the Agriculture Department as those where paddy stubble is traditionally burnt.
Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Viswajeet Khanna said all Deputy Commissioners have been asked to depute the officials to each of the villages to spread awareness on the dangers of stubble burning on health and environment.
“The nodal officers will be tasked with keeping a strict vigil over the post-harvesting operations,” he said in a statement.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashuhas has asked all heads of the procurements agencies and Food Corporation of India officials to personally supervise the paddy procurement operations from October 1. Punjab has set up 1,834 purchase centres.
The Centre has fixed a minimum support price (MSP) for paddy at ₹1,770 per quintal for Grade A and ₹1,750 per quintal for common variety.
Paddy is grown on 65 la: acres in Punjab. After harvesting, about 20 million tonnes of straw is left on the fields. It is estimated that 15 million tonnes of straw is burnt by farmers for to clear the fields and make them ready for the next crop.
