Lucknow: The Central Government has released Rs 3,000 crore to the four affected states to stop the poisonous air due to the continuous burning of stubble in North India. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, during a discussion on Friday (November 4), urged all the states to make collective efforts, saying that the central government has given this amount to Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. However, the Agriculture Minister also said that one-third of this amount has not been spent yet.

Expressing concern over the increasing incidents of stubble burning in four big states of North India including Punjab, Tomar on Friday urged the states to take steps to control it. He said that since 2018 the central government has provided funds and machines to the states to manage the incidents of stubble burning. The Union Minister said that stubble burning is not a political issue and states should work towards curbing it. He said that the Pusa decomposer developed by the agricultural research body ICAR is very effective in tackling the problem of stubble burning. Tomar urged the state governments as well as the farmers to use more such technology.

Let us tell you that with the help of a Pusa decomposer, the stubble can be converted into compost much faster than the normal time taken. Apart from being economical, it also proves helpful in increasing the fertility of the soil. Addressing a one-day function organized on Pusa decomposer, the Union Minister said that even after providing crores of rupees and two lakh machines, incidents of stubble burning are increasing, which is a matter of concern.

The Union Minister said that since 2018-19, the Central Government has given Rs 3,138 crore to four states, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, to manage the problem of stubble burning, of which more than Rs 1,400 crore has been given to Punjab, Rs 900 crore has been provided to Haryana, Rs 713 crore to UP and Rs 6 crore to Delhi. The Agriculture Minister also told that, claiming that some states, especially UP and Haryana, have done a good job.

The Union Minister also said that he had a review meeting a week ago with the officials of the respective state governments on the status of stubble burning. He said that if the CMs of the respective states want to discuss the matter further, he would welcome them. Tomar said that with the problem of stubble burning becoming a major issue, the Centre, states and judiciary have taken note of it and schemes have been implemented.

Tomar said that as Agriculture Minister he feels bad when farmers are blamed for the increase in pollution in Delhi. Tomar said that I am the Agriculture Minister and represent the farming community. If pollution increases because of farmers in Delhi, I think they are blaming me. It is everyone's responsibility to get rid of this stigma on farmers.

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