JALANDHAR
In a bid to stop stubble burning practice, the district administration has prepared a roadmap to manage 2.36-lakh MT paddy stubble through ex-situ management.
As per discussions held by the officials of various departments, 2.36-lakh MT paddy stubble will be supplied to the Bhogpur sugar mill, brick kilns, and boilers where stubble will be consumed as fuel.
Participating in a video conference, Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal on Wednesday said that the administration had already talked with the management of the various industries where stubble will be used as fuel.
He said that Jalandhar had around 60 balers in the district which were useful in evacuating stubble from the fields by making bales of three to five quintals.
He said that these bales would be directly sold to industries by the farmers or farm groups in the district.
Sarangal said that first time, Bhogpur Sugar Mill will get 50000-MT paddy stubble from Jalandhar besides 1.10 lakh MT will be taken away by brick kilns and 75000-MT by the boilers. He said that as per the agriculture and farmers’ welfare department, around 9.47 lakh MT of paddy stubble is expected to be managed by in-situ, ex-situ, and other methods.
Sarangal also asked SDMs to personally lay major focus on 105 hotspot villages and ensure that the farmers of these areas do not resort to the stubble-burning practice.
He said that till Tuesday (October 3), eight incidences of stubble burning were reported in the Jalandhar and officers have already been asked to verify the cases.
He said that the administration had already appointed 243 cluster coordinators nodal officers who will be keeping close vigil in their jurisdiction to curb the menace. He said that the 5618 machines were already provided through custom hiring centers/societies/groups.
The Deputy Commissioner said that an awareness campaign had already started to persuade the peasantry not to indulge in the stubble-burning practice which is harmful to the environment and humans. Farmers’ awareness meetings were also being held across the district.