Punjab comes up with Rs 500-cr action plan to curb farm fires

Aiming to bring stubble burning to zero in the state, the Punjab Government has formulated an action plan worth Rs 500 crore to provide farmers with the latest crop residue management (CRM) machinery on subsidy and implement other strategies to manage the paddy straw efficiently.

Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department had invited online applications from the state farmers to avail subsidies on the procurement of the CRM machines. The applications can be submitted through online portal agrimachinerypb.com from April 22 to May 12.

Encouraging the farmers to take advantage of the scheme, the minister said the government had been offering a 50 per cent subsidy to individual farmers and an 80 per cent subsidy to Farmer Groups, Cooperative Societies and Gram Panchayats for the purchase of the CRM machines.

The initiative aims to make the CRM machinery more accessible to farmers, promoting its adoption and, ultimately, contributing to a cleaner environment, he added.

The Agriculture Minister said the subsidy would be available on the CRM machinery and include Super SMS, Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Surface Seeder, Smart Seeder, Zero Till Drill, Baler, Rake, Shrub Master/Rotary Slasher, Paddy straw Chopper/Shreder/Mulcher, Crop Reaper, Hydraulic Reversible Mould Board Plough.

Dr Basant Garg, Administrative Secretary in the Agriculture Department, said Punjab had witnessed significant progress in crop residue management. The state government had distributed 17,600 subsidised CRM machines to individual farmers, cooperative societies and panchayats during previous season. Additionally, 1,331 custom hiring centres (CHCs) were also established to facilitate the CRM practices. These efforts resulted in a 70% decrease in fire incidents during the previous season compared to 2023, with only

Punjab