29,000 Punjab farmers get Rs 2500 per acre for not burning crop residue

The Punjab government has disbursed Rs 19 crore among 29,343 non-basmati cultivating small and marginal farmers who did not burn paddy residue, a senior official said on Friday.

The government has decided to give Rs 2,500 per acre as compensation to small and marginal farmers who have refrained from burning paddy straw, a major contributor to air pollution in the region.

Agriculture Secretary Kahan Singh Pannu said the compensation has been released directly to the bank accounts of the farmers as per the list supplied by the field officers.

As many as 85,000 applications have been received till now, Pannu said, adding the last date for submission of these applications is November 30.

"Every application has to be verified by village panchayat and then by revenue authorities to ensure that only the non-basmati cultivating farming families owning land up to 5 acres and having not burnt any part of the field, are recommended for compensation," he said in an official release.

Pannu warned that any sarpanch or revenue officer wrongly recommending any applicant would face stern action.

He also cautioned that farmers giving wrong undertaking to seek compensation would also face action for fraudulently claiming the public money.