Govt to offer 80% subsidy on farm machines

Water and Environment Commission submits report to LHC

LAHORE:

The Punjab government intends to offer the farmers 80 per cent subsidy on rice straw choppers, shredders and seeders during 2020-21 and 2021-22.

On Thursday, on the direction of Justice Shahid Karim, the focal person handed over the commission’s report to the LDA vice chairman. Justice Karim directed him to read the report and then assist the court. Justice Shahid was hearing petitions wherein the petitioners had prayed the court to pass directions to the quarters concerned to preserve clean drinking water and to take steps to make the atmosphere pollution free.

The report stated that the agriculture secretary informed the commission that they have started an awareness campaign and also introduced the machinery for removing rice stubbles without burning.

A compliance follow up report submitted by the Judicial Water and Environment Commission before Lahore High Court revealed that the department had introduced machines for removing rice stubbles without burning to avoid pollution.

Chairman Judicial Water Commission Justice (retd) Ali Akbar Qureshi shared with the court the recent steps taken in this regard.

The report stated that the secretary agriculture had informed the commission that the department had launched an awareness campaign and introduced machinery for removing rice stubbles without burning.

The report revealed that the Steel Melters Association (SMA) had requested a period of 90 days for installation of air pollution control devices. DG Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Ashar Abbas informed the chairperson of the commission that special loans will be provided by the industries department at a markup of 4% to brick kilns for conversion to zigzag technology and no unit would be allowed to operate with the old technology.

The report added that the secretary agriculture has submitted a compliance report which highlighted the action plan of the department. The commission’s chairman convened a meeting on July 28, where the secretary agriculture was directed to establish a smog mitigation cell to cope with incidence of stubble burning, monitor the implementation of the action plan and use the media in this regard.

A project for mechanised management of rice crop residue has been approved by the PDWP with a total cost of Rs335.505 million, including a government share of Rs271.755 million. The project was launched by the agriculture department for three years in major rice growing districts like Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Okara, Hafizabad, Sialkot, Nanakana Sahib, Bahawalnagar, Jhang, Narowal, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin, Chiniot, Gujrat, Lahore and Faisalabad.

An awareness campaign against rice stubble burning will be launched for the next harvesting season.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2020.