Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh agriculture department has said that it will stop giving benefits of the Prime Minister’s Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKSN) to farmers who are burning of stubble that causes pollution.
The department has issued notices to nine farmers in Deoria. They have been accused of burning agricultural wastes, although the department has issued warning to them against doing that.
According to additional chief secretary of agriculture Devesh Chaturvedi, the step was taken to discourage farmers from burning stubbles. The warning to stop grants under PMKSN is bound to have an impact on 2.83 crore farmers who are registered under the scheme, say experts. According to official sources, though there is no provision to allow the state government to stop central grants to the farmers, the warning would have an impact on the farmers.
The warning came in the wake of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asking the officials to establish district wise camps to make farmers sensitive about the ill effects of the farm waste burning.
According to joint director of agriculture department RK Singh, the department has taken strict action to curb stubble burning in the state. As a result, the situation has improved, but more improvement is needed, he said.
The district officials have registered FIRs, imposed fines between Rs 2,500 and Rs 15,000 and seized farm equipment, sources said. There were, however, many instances of farm wastes.
The Uttar Pradesh Pollution (UPPCB) has gathered data of 800 farm fire incidents that occurred in different areas in the state. Since the UP has the highest amount of farm residue in the country, the state government even decided to give money for transporting stubble to cow shelters.
