Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Sandeep Pathak raised the issue of stubble in Parliament: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Dr. Sandeep Pathak, raised the issue of stubble in Parliament on Thursday and appealed to the Central Government to cooperate with the Punjab Government for a solution.
Addressing Rajya Sabha, Dr. Pathak said that we often blame farmers for burning stubble, whereas some farmers burn stubble not out of hobby but out of compulsion. Governments are clearly responsible for this.
He said that the biggest solution to stop stubble burning is that the government should provide proper financial assistance to the farmers. The Punjab government has proposed to give Rs 1000 per acre to the farmers of the state for stubble and has appealed to the Center to give Rs 1500 per acre for this. If the Center agrees to the Punjab Government, then farmers will get Rs 2500 per acre and this problem will be solved soon.
Another solution to the stubble problem is crop diversification. He said that the MSP of other Kharif crops is very low compared to paddy, therefore farmers prefer to cultivate paddy only. The Punjab government has said that the difference between the MSP of other crops and paddy will be compensated by the state government. If the Central Government also brings a plan to equalize MSP and implements it from this year itself, then good results will be seen.
Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav answered the pathak’s questions and rejected the Punjab government’s demand of Rs 1500. Sandeep Pathak disagreed with his answer and said that we are not satisfied with the minister’s answer.
