Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare department, Yamunanagar, has taken a strict action against six farmers in connection with cases of stubble burning of wheat.
The department has marked ‘red-entries’ in land record of violators on ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal of the government, debarring them from selling their crops at minimum support price in grain markets for the next two crop seasons. A fine of Rs 20,000 was also imposed on the violators.
According to officials of the agriculture department, based on reports received from the Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), the department received 19 alerts regarding fire incidents this year. Out of these 19 alerts, five cases were found to be false alarms, while seven were accidental incidents.
The officials of the department said last year, the district had received 36 such alerts, out of which FIRs were registered in 18 cases and fines worth Rs 55,000 were imposed.
Dr Aditya Partap Dabas, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Yamunanagar, said farmers who were given a red entry on the portal would not be able to sell their crops at MSP in grain markets for the next two crop seasons.
“Entry with crop to grain markets is linked with the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal and farmers with red entries will face restrictions,” said Dr Dabas adding that the department had been continuously spreading awareness among farmers for not to burn crop residue and instead mange it scientifically.
He added that stubble burning damages soil fertility and destroys beneficial microorganisms present in the soil. “Managing crop residue properly will improve soil health and reduce air pollution,” he said.
He appealed to the farmers to avoid burning stubble and adopt sustainable farming practices for better crop productivity and environmental protection.
