This paddy season, Punjab to manage 15 million tonne stubble through in-situ, ex-situ methods
It is anticipated that approximately 20 million tonnes of paddy straw will be generated this season, as around 31.68 lakh hectares of land are expected to be cultivated with rice, including paddy and Basmati rice.
3 min read
For the current year 2023-24, the scheme has been included under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), in which state governments also contribute to agricultural schemes launched by the Centre. (Express Archive) With the commencement of paddy sowing in June, the Punjab government has formulated a plan to address the issue of paddy stubble during the Kharif season.
The plan involves the addition of more than 20,000 Crop Residue Management (CRM) Machines to the existing fleet and the establishment of 1,000 new Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs). The estimated expenditure for this plan is Rs 350 crore, with the state government contributing 40% for the first time since the scheme’s launch in 2018.
This year, the government has set a target of managing around 15 million tonnes of stubble, including 11.50 million tonnes through ex-situ management and 3.54 million tonnes through in-situ management.
In-situ management involves incorporating the stubble into the soil using CRM machines, while ex-situ management involves lifting the stubble from the fields and supplying it to stubble-based industries.
It is anticipated that approximately 20 million tonnes of paddy straw will be generated this season, as around 31.68 lakh hectares of land are expected to be cultivated with rice, including paddy and Basmati rice.
In the previous Kharif season of 2022, rice was cultivated on approximately 31.67 lakh hectares in Punjab, with paddy grown on about 26.73 lakh hectares and the remaining 4.94 lakh hectares dedicated to cultivating basmati varieties.
For the current year 2023-24, the scheme has been included under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), in which state governments also contribute to agricultural schemes launched by the Centre. The funding ratio for the CRM scheme this year will be 60:40 (Centre:state).
Sources in the Agriculture Punjab Department have revealed that an action plan worth Rs 350 crore has been prepared, with Rs 210 crore allocated by the Centre under the scheme.
Of the total amount, Rs 140 crore is Punjab’s share, and Rs 210 crore is the Centre’s share. The Punjab government aims to establish 1000 new Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) with an 80% subsidy, while 20,270 CRM equipment will be provided with a 50% subsidy. The state currently has an unspent balance of Rs 201.66 crore from the previous year’s scheme.
As of the last season, 2022-23, the state had a total of 1,17,672 machines, including 44,146 Super Seeders and 13,664 Happy Seeders. Additionally, there were around 59,000 other CRM machines, such as paddy straw choppers, mulchers, RMB ploughs, Super SMS, Zero till drills, rotavators, Rotary Shalshers, balers, rakes, and others.
Officials from the department have stated that a comprehensive information and publicity campaign will be launched among the farmers starting in September. The campaign aims to mobilize farmers and discourage them from burning crop residues.
Furthermore, all Group-A officers of the Department of Agriculture have been instructed to adopt a CHC in their respective work areas and provide support. The department plans to adopt more than 600 CHCs. The “I-Khet” app, which facilitates the hiring of machines, is already operational, and efforts are underway to map all available machines on the app.
Gurvinder Singh, Director of Agriculture, highlighted that this is the first time that the center is not sponsoring the scheme fully. He mentioned that the state government has requested the center to fully sponsor it as in previous years. Last year, out of 20 million generated stubble approximately 10 million tonnes of stubble were managed through in-situ and ex-situ methods.
You May Like
