CM orders pre-audit of straw mgmt scheme, says no bias

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, August 9

Rejecting allegations of favouritism being shown to certain manufacturers, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today ordered a first-of-its-kind social pre-audit of the Crop Residue Management (CRM) Scheme for supplying farm equipment on subsidy to farmers.

The social pre-audit by the Agriculture Department would nail the lies being propagated by certain vested political interests, said the Chief Minister, adding that not a single farmer had questioned the quality of the machines/equipment being supplied under the scheme. The machinery aims to ensure scientific disposal of paddy straw during the kharif season.

‘Will nail lies on scheme’

The social pre-audit by the Agriculture Department will nail the lies being spread by certain vested political interests. —Capt Amarinder Singh, CM

The Chief Minister said the pre-audit would seek to make the scheme more efficacious, broad-based and farmer-friendly with the ultimate goal of making the state free of pollution triggered by stubble burning. Suggestions and objections would also be invited from all stakeholders for this purpose.

The Centre has been running the scheme for the past two years for distributing machinery among farmers and cooperative societies for effective in situ management of the paddy straw.

Under the scheme, farmers from Punjab have been given a subsidy of nearly Rs 460 crore on 50,815 farm machines. The Centre has already listed around 180 manufacturers from Punjab to ensure supply of farm equipment/machinery in this regard.

During the current year, the government intends to give Rs 300-crore subsidy on 23,500 such machines. Capt Amarinder Singh has directed Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Anirudh Tiwari to provide these machines to farmers and societies only after the completion of the audit.

The ACS said the pre-audit would be completed before the distribution of farm machinery/equipment to the farmers and cooperative societies.

As many as 7,000 farmers would be given the machines at 50 per cent subsidy, while 5,000 cooperative societies, panchayats and farmers’ groups would be given the machines at 80 per cent subsidised rate.

The state-of-the-art equipment or machines required for in situ management of paddy include super straw management system on combine harvesters, happy seeder, paddy straw chopper/shredder, mulcher, RMB plough, zero till drill and super seeder to ensure zero burning of paddy residue in the open fields.

To further improve the paddy management system, the department had also decided to provide mechanised equipment, needed for ex situ management of paddy straw, on subsidy, the ACS said .

Rs 460-cr subsidy by centre

Under the scheme, farmers from Punjab have been given a subsidy of nearly Rs460 crore on 50,815 farm machines. The Centre has already listed around 180 manufacturers from Punjab to ensure supply of farm equipment and machinery in this regard.