Moga, June 15: The Agriculture Department on Thursday issued a notice to Dera Nanaksar Thath at Samadh Bhai village in the Baghapurana sub-division of the district for transplanting paddy seedlings on their land.
A team of the department visited the spot and found that paddy seedlings were being transplanted. Since the state government has directed farmers not to sow paddy before June 20, the officials tried in vain to convince the dera people to stop the transplantation.
The team sent a report to the Chief Agriculture Officer after which a notice was served on the dera to plough the land and destroy the transplanted paddy within 48 hours or else legal action would be taken against them.
Meanwhile, the dera authorities claimed they had transplanted paddy seedlings a few days before the June 20 government directive to harvest the crop early as they organise a religious function on the land every September 30.
“We cannot allow anybody to transplant paddy seedlings before June 20. If dera men want the land to be vacated by September 30, they could have gone for the cultivation of short-duration variety,” a scientist of the department said.
Source Tribune India
