SAD asks Punjab govt to pay Rs 2.5k per acre to farmers to manage stubble

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to release Rs 2,500 per acre to all paddy growers for managing paddy stubble.

In a statement here, Badal said the Congress-led government has not only “refused” to give compensation of Rs 100 per quintal to farmers for managing paddy stubble last year as mandated by the Supreme Court, it has not kept any provision in the state budget this year either to offer this compensation.

“This speaks of the utter insensitivity of the state government which is using threats and even FIRs to force farmers to do its bidding but is not ready to facilitate them at all,” Badal said in his statement.

“The SAD demands the government clear last year's compensation backlog and release funds in advance to farmers this year on their undertakings to manage paddy stubble as per the apex court’s directions,” he added.

Badal said the apex court had clearly stipulated that the state should not wait for the Union government to come up with the compensation and should take measures to do the needful on its own.

“After failing to offer compensation to farmers, the Congress government registered 1,700 cases against them for burning stubble last year,” he said.

“This year the Congress government is seeking to abrogate its responsibility to farmers by claiming that they can take machines needed to manage stubble from custom hiring centres free of cost,” Badal said.

It is a known fact that these centres can manage only a fraction of the paddy stubble in the state, he said.