PUNJAB GOVT APPOINTS OVER 8K NODAL OFFICERS TO KEEP VIGIL AT STUBBLE BURNING

* Agriculture Dept issues 16,205 sanction letters for procurement of subsidised CRM machinery, says Gurmeet Singh Khudian

• Farmers procure 8635 CRM machines so far

Chandigarh, October 1:

          In order to prevent stubble burning in the state, the Punjab Government has appointed as many as 8045 Nodal Officers to keep vigil around the areas where paddy stubble burning remained a traditional practice.

          Sharing this information, Punjab's Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian mentioned that 79 SDMs, 108 Tehsildars, 108 DSPs, 1140 cluster officers and additional staff have been mobilised to combat stubble burning during the paddy harvesting season. These appointed nodal officers have been tasked with closely monitoring post-harvesting activities. They will engage in various information, education and communication (IEC) activities, such as conducting meetings with farmers and facilitating and encouraging the use of CRM machines, he added.

          Encouraging the state farmers to make use of Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery for paddy straw management, the Agriculture Minister highlighted the launch of the 'Unnat Kisan' mobile application, which aims to provide easy access to CRM machines, especially for small and marginal farmers. With over 1.30 lakh machines listed on the app, farmers can conveniently book a CRM machine in their local area.

          S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian revealed that farmers have acquired a total of 8635 CRM machines so far. Additionally, he mentioned the issuance of 16,205 sanction letters for the procurement of subsidised CRM machinery.