Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 6
Even as the Supreme Court today criticised Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for their failure to stop stubble burning and ordered them to give Rs 100 per quintal for non-Basmati paddy as incentive to farmers who have not burnt stubble, experts believe the move can bring substantial relief to plains of the northwest suffering due to deadly smog year after year.
Despite crores being spent on the machines, widespread stubble burning was reported from paddy-growing states. It was a replay of previous years.
Agriculture expert Devinder Sharma says a mere Rs 100 per quintal or Rs 3000 per acre a season can bring substantial relief from the dilapidating smog. The government is spending much more on subsidy on machinery, etc. With less than Rs 3000 crore a season the government can provide relief to the region (Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh), for the season, says Sharma.
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking compensation of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy to motivate farmers against burning stubble. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar recently said the Centre had given more than 20,000 machines to farmers in Punjab and Haryana at a cost of about Rs 1,150 crore for management of paddy stubble.
Sharma says in Punjab Rs 650 crore was spent to subsidise the machines. “Happy Seeder machine alone gets a subsidy of 50 per cent of the cost, which means roughly Rs 60,000 per machine if farmers purchase it on individual basis, 80 per cent subsidy for the machine if sold to cooperatives etc. Happy Seeder machine at best is used for one month it remains idle for the rest of the year. If a subsidy of Rs 60,000 can be given for a machine why can’t a stimulus package of Rs 3,000 per acre be provided to farmers? No farmer wants to burn the stubble. Farmers are willing to dispose of the stalk in a proper manner if they are given the incentive,” he says.
“The impact (of the subsidy) was not visible,” officials agree, adding that “more incentives will only make farmers more dependent on paddy whereas the attempt should be to wean them away from the water-guzzling crop”. Air pollution levels last week almost left the entire North gasping and the authorities scrambling for solutions. The burning of paddy stubble in Punjab, Haryana and to an extent Uttar Pradesh was seen as a large contributing factor.
‘Rs 3,000 per acre can go a long way’
Happy Seeder machine at best is used for one month; it remains idle for the rest of the year. If a subsidy of Rs 60,000 can be given for a machine why can’t a stimulus package of Rs 3,000 per acre be provided to farmers? — Devinder Sharma, Agriculture expert
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