Bihar govt giving subsidy to buy equipment for crop residue

The Bihar government is giving a subsidy of up to 80 per cent on the purchase of farm equipment for crop residue management, as part of its efforts to dissuade farmers from burning stubble, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said Tuesday.

The state's agriculture department, along with the pollution control board, has also taken steps to generate awareness about the ill-effects of burning stubble in the fields, Modi, who also holds environment and forest portfolio, said in the Bihar Assembly during the Question Hour.

"The state government is promoting better crop residue management and asking farmers not to burn crop residue (stubble) in field. It could instead be used as compost.

"The government is giving subsidy of up to 80 per cent on various farm equipment, such as happy seeder, straw reaper, straw baler, rotary mulcher," he said while replying to a query by BJP's Anil Singh.

Singh wanted to know what steps were being taken by the government to check the practice of husk burning, especially in the districts of Nawada, Aurangabad and Gaya.

During his reply, the deputy chief minister admitted that stubble burning instances were mostly sighted and reported from these three districts.

"The agriculture department officials have been asked to create awareness with radio jingles and TV advertisements about the environmental impact of burning crop residue, especially in these three districts. The practice could reduce soil fertility apart from polluting the air," he said.

The state pollution control board has also placed advertisements in local newspapers to spread the message among the farmers as well other communities, the minister added.