Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal, highlighted the significant contribution of the state’s hardworking farmers towards achieving self-sufficiency in the country’s food supply. The present state government prioritises the welfare of the farmers, giving compensation to those affected by floods. Additionally, Farmers who replanted crops have been compensated Rs 7,000 per acre. The previous government used to compensate farmers for crop damage caused by natural disasters with Rs 10,000 per acre, which has now been increased to Rs 15,000 per acre.
The Chief minister highlighted that in the past 9 years the state government has disbursed Rs. 11,000 crores to farmers, including the pending Rs. 269 crore from the previous government. A kshatipurti Portal was started to ensure transparency in assessing losses from natural calamities. Furthermore, biomass projects are being introduced in Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Fatehabad, and Jind to generate electricity from stubble, with a capacity of 30 MW.
The Chief Minister was interacting with the farmers through audio conferencing under the ‘CM ki Vishesh Charcha’ programme here today.
The Chief Minister said that stubble is used in the production of biofuel. On August 10, 2022, Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi inaugurated the 2G Ethanol Plant at Panipat Refinery. Following the 2G plant, a 3G plant has been established in Panipat Refinery, which will be the world’s first refinery off gas based 3G ethanol plant. An additional incentive of Rs 1,000 per acre is being offered to ensure the consumption of stubble in the 2G ethanol plant.
The Chief minister acknowledging the beneficiaries of the of the ‘PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana’. Nearly 8 lakh 74 thousand farmers in the state have received Rs. 175 crores as 15th installment. He stated that a provision has been made to provide a maximum incentive amount of Rs 15,000 at the rate of Rs 500 per acre to encourage the consumption of stubble in Gaushala as well.
He said that the state government is in talk with African countries to explore opportunities for Haryana farmers to cultivate there, highlighting the state’s diminishing agricultural land. Plans are in the works to make this initiative a reality.
The state’s farmers set a good example of stubble management
The Chief Minister noted that farmers in the state showcased commendable practices in managing stubble burning, Haryana stands as a model state in stubble management, with a reduction in incidents of stubble burning.
He praised the farmers for this achievement, emphasising the recent Supreme Court verdict advising Punjab to learn from Haryana in reducing field fire incidents as there has been a 36.4 percent decrease in cases of stubble burning in haryana, whereas in Punjab, only a 27.1 percent decrease has been recorded.
According to the ICAR report until November 22, Haryana recorded 2,239 stubble burning cases, significantly lower than Punjab’s 36,118 cases. The state has devised alternatives for stubble management, setting a unique precedent nationally by fixing a rate of Rs. 2,500 per ton for stubble purchase. Additionally, a provision of an extra payment of Rs. 500 per ton is made for stubble with less than 20 percent moisture content.
The government helped the farmers at every step
The Chief Minister said that the government extended support to farmers at every step, from sowing seeds in fields to selling produce in markets. He highlighted that in July this year, floods affected 1469 villages and 4 towns across 12 districts including Ambala, Fatehabad, Faridabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panchkula, Panipat, Palwal, Sonipat, Sirsa, and Yamunanagar. The government provided full assistance to those affected by floods, with compensation of Rs. 112 crore 21 lakh and Rs. 97 crore 93 lakh 26 thousand disbursed to 34, 511 farmers for crop damage, including 49,197 acres replanted.
Reward of Rs 1 lakh given to panchayats that do not burn crop residue
The Chief Minister stated that a reward of Rs 1 lakh is given to Gramp Panchayats that move from the category of highly sensitive villages in terms of crop residue burning to the category of zero crop residue burning. Similarly, panchayats that transition from sensitive villages to zero crop residue burning receive a Rs 50,000 reward.
He further added that the “Mera Pani Meri Virasat” scheme promotes low water-consuming crops by providing a grant of Rs. 7,000 per acre for crop diversification in paddy fields. Approximately Rs. 118 crores have been distributed, leading to a reduction in stubble quantity.
6,794 custom hiring centres have been established in the state since 2018 to prevent pollution caused by crop residue burning and farmers have received 80,071 crop residue management equipment, the Chief Minister added.
Government gave a subsidy of Rs 685 crore to farmers for purchase of machines
The Chief Minister said that the state’s farmers have received Rs 685 crore in subsidies so far. Farmers have purchased 6,130 machines on subsidy so far in the current fiscal year. To encourage the use of these machines, an incentive amount of Rs 1,000 per acre has been made for both in-situ and ex-situ management.
Approximately 1 lakh 42 thousand farmers have registered to manage 13.1 lakh acres of paddy field, for which a total of Rs 131 crore has been allocated. Farmers in the state were given a free Pusa decomposer kit for crop residue management on 2 lakh 50 thousand acres of land. In the current fiscal year, the goal is to manage 5 lakh acres of paddy land with decomposers.
