Hoshiarpur- Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain today held a meeting with officers of various departments to review the preparations to prevent incidents of stubble burning in the district and its scientific management.
During the meeting, they discussed in detail the status of stubble management machinery available at the block level, the subsidized machines provided to farmers so far, their effective use and the plans for managing stubble consumed by industrial units.
The Deputy Commissioner said that so far 3063 stubble management machines have been made available to the farmers of the district on subsidy, while in the current year so far 156 machines have been purchased by the farmers themselves. These include in-situ machines (for managing stubble in the field itself) and ex-situ baler machines (for making bundles of stubble and consumption in industrial units).
He directed the officers to conduct IEC activities to spread maximum awareness among the farmers about stubble management. Under this, propaganda vans, school level competitions and agricultural exhibitions will be organized.
The Deputy Commissioner appealed to the farmers of the district to completely abandon the practice of stubble burning and manage stubble scientifically by using the available resources. He said that the farmers can directly contact the Agriculture Department for technical information and necessary help in this matter.
Apart from this, he directed all the Sub-Divisional Magistrates to inspect the stubble management plans at their respective levels and take concrete measures for the management of paddy stubble during the coming season. The DC said that nodal officers and cluster officers are being appointed to prevent incidents of stubble burning in the district.
He directed all the departments to discharge their duties with full readiness and responsibility in the work of stubble management. On this occasion, ADC (Development) Nicas Kumar along with officials from various departments were present.