india

Updated: Nov 13, 2019 22:10 IST

The Punjab government on Wednesday announced Rs 2,500 per acre as compensation to small and marginal farmers who did not burn crop residue.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is a cause of air pollution in Delhi and governments of both states are taking several steps to check the practice.

Farmers cultivating non-basmati paddy and owning land up to five acres will get Rs 2,500 per acre compensation for not burning stubble, said secretary, agriculture department, Kahan Singh Pannu. To seek the compensation, farmers have to submit a self-declaration proforma with the panchayat concerned by November 30 for claiming compensation, he said.

The proforma is available with village panchayats. The compensation amount would be directly credited to the bank account of the eligible farmer, said Pannu in an official statement here. Pannu also appealed to the farmers not to burn paddy residue as it was the blatant violation of the orders of the Supreme Court. He also warned of strict action to be initiated against those farmers violating the ban on stubble burning.

Farmers in Punjab continued to defy ban on stubble burning with the state witnessing more than 48,000 incidents of farm fires this year. Farmers, particularly small ones, have been claiming that it was not financially viable for them to buy farm machinery for the management of paddy residue. They have also been claiming Rs 200 per quintal as compensation for management of stubble.