JALANDHAR
Deputy Commissioner Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal while reviewing the incidents of burning the wheat crop residue in the district issued strict instructions to the officials to stay in the fields to curtail this practice.
The Deputy Commissioner held a review meeting here at the district administrative complex along with SSP Jalandhar (Rural) Ankur Gupta, along officials from the Agriculture Department and Punjab Pollution Control Board. He directed to keep a close vigil so that such incidents to be prevented.
The DC said that it should be ensured that wherever the information regarding the incident of fire in the field is received through satellite, it should be investigated and a report to be submitted immediately by the concerned official.
Dr. Aggarwal asked the officials of the Agriculture Department to contact the farmers and inform them about the adverse effects of burning the crop residue and also inform them about the advantages of disposing of it in the field for better soil health.
He said that to prevent incidents of setting farms on fire, farmers should be encouraged as much as possible to refrain from this practice.
The Deputy Commissioner also said that the Supreme Court has given strict instructions in the matter of burning crop residue. He also said that a fine of up to Rs. 15,000 can be imposed in case of setting a farm on fire. He appealed to the farmers not to burn the residue of wheat to avoid departmental action and to maintain the purity of the environment.
On this occasion, Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Jaswant Roi, Executive Engineer Punjab Pollution Control Board Sandeep Kumar, and Engineer from Agriculture Department Navdeep Singh were present.