Farmers burning stubble won’t get ₹6,000 benefit, can’t sell at MSP: Mohan Yadav

BHOPAL: Farmers in Madhya Pradesh will lose the annual ₹6,000 assistance under the Chief Minister Kisan Kalyan Scheme and won’t be able to sell their produce to the government at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) if they are booked for stubble burning, chief minister Mohan Yadav has said.

The decision will come into effect from May 1, the chief minister said at a meeting to review the functioning of the revenue department on Thursday.

The move comes after the state recorded a sharp increase in stubble burning cases in the country after the wheat harvest. Madhya Pradesh has recorded the highest number of crop residue burning cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab. Till April 24, Madhya Pradesh has reported 24,953 instances of crop residue burning, according to government data.

Also Read: Madhya Pradesh tops in wheat stubble burning; ₹25 lakh fined, 50 FIRs filed

“Madhya Pradesh is mainly an agricultural state. The growing practice of burning crop residue after harvest causes severe environmental damage, including air pollution and degradation of soil quality. Stubble burning destroys essential nutrients in the soil and reduces its fertility,” he said at Thursday’s meeting, according to a statement issued by the government’s information and publicity department.

“The state government has banned the burning of crop residue under prohibitory order and action under section 19(5) of the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 but farmers continue to do so. Now, we have decided to deny the annual benefits of ₹6,000 under the Chief Minister Kisan Kalyan Scheme. Their crops will not be procured at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) during the following year,” the chief minister added.

So far, over 80 farmers have been booked for stubble burning this year and a fine of over ₹40 lakh has been imposed in this connection.

Also Read: A State-driven solutionto crop stubble menace

Revenue department principal secretary Vivek Porwal said discussions on how to implement the decision are underway.

Farmers associations said this was unfair and they will stage protests if the government implements the decision.

“In the absence of the availability of machines for removing crop residue, how will farmers get rid of it and prepare the farm for the next crop? On one side, the government claims that farmers are sowing three crops due to availability of water and on the other they are not allowing farmers to prepare their field for it,” farm leader Anil Yadav said.