CHANDIGARH: Where Punjab has been struggling to convince farmers to give up the unhealthy practice of

, it is now banking upon financial aid of Rs 695 crore from the Centre to fuel its campaign. The focus now is on in-situ disposal of residue with subsidy on machines. Among the eight types of subsidized equipment being provided, it is Happy Seeder, a tractor mounted machine, which has turned out to be most popular among farmers.

State nodal officer for the anti-stubble burning campaign K S Pannu told TOI that out of the central aid, Rs 269 crore is being used this year and the rest of it has been kept aside for the next year. The Centre has given a total of Rs 1,151 crore to the northern states to tackle stubble burning, he added.

Meanwhile, 3,306 units of Happy Seeders had already hit the ground till last week and most of these have gone to individual farmers.

The coming weeks will test the success of the state government’s efforts. Smoke from paddy fields set on fire not just envelopes Punjab but there are claims that it also casts its shadow over the atmosphere of the national capital.

For 2018-19, the state government has set a target of making available 24,972 machines of eight types to farmers in the state and so far 10,697 have been provided. More, individual farmers have opted for machines than cooperative societies.

“The financial assistance is being utilized only for in-situ crop residue management with subsidy on eight key equipment to farmers to tackle paddy straw. Apart from groups of farmers and cooperative societies, individuals too can

the subsidy,” he said.

Pannu said a concerted effort was being made by the state government under its “Tandarust Punjab” campaign to reach out to farmers so that they give up the practice of getting rid of paddy straw by setting the fields on fire. Under the centrally-sponsored scheme, the objective is to set up ‘farm machinery banks’ for custom hiring of in-situ crop residue management machinery. Financial assistance of 80% of the project cost will be provided to the cooperative societies of the farmers.

Meanwhile, over seven thousand Happy Seeders will be provided to individual farmers in two years. The equipment can plant the wheat seed without getting jammed by the

straw. The Happy Seeder is a tractor-mounted machine that cuts and lifts rice straw, sows wheat into the bare soil, and deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch.

Nodal officers have been appointed for every village, besides administrative officers keeping a close eye on the ground situation to ensure that there are is no stubble burning, said Pannu.