Stubble burning not political issue, states should work on it: Tomar

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday expressed concern over rising incidents of stubble burning in four major north Indian states including Punjab and appealed them to take steps to control it.

The minister said since 2018, the central government has provided funds and machines to the states for the management of stubble burning incidents.

Stubble burning is not a "political issue" and the states should work towards curbing it, he said.

The minister said that PUSA decomposer, developed by the agri-research body ICAR, is effective in controlling stubble burning, and appealed to state governments as well as farmers to make use of more such machines.

"Despite providing crores of rupees and 2 lakh machines, stubble burning incidents are rising and it is a cause of concern," Tomar said addressing a day-long event on 'Pusa decomposer'.

Since 2018-19, the Central government has provided Rs 3,138 crore to four states -- Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana -- for the management of stubble burning. Out of which, more than Rs 1,400 crore has been given to Punjab, Rs 900 crore to Haryana, Rs 713 crore to Uttar Pradesh and Rs 6-7 crore to Delhi, he said.

Some states, especially Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have done good work and are moving towards a positive direction, he said.

At that time, it was said that had decomposer machines been deployed, stubble burning would have been effectively controlled. Thereafter, about two lakh machines were made available to the states, he said.

These two lakh machines can help to control stubble burning, provided the states are determined, Tomar told reporters on the sidelines of the event.