Punjab announces Rs 1,500 per acre aid for farmers who go in for direct seeding of rice

Ruchika M. Khanna 

Advertisement

Chandigarh, April 30 

The Punjab government has decided to give financial aid of Rs 1,500 per acre to each of the farmers who go in for direct seeding of rice in the upcoming Kharif season. This will wean away farmers from transplantation of paddy, which is detrimental for environment and makes it a groundwater-guzzling crop.

Farmers have been allowed to go in for direct seeding from May 20. The announcement was made by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today.

Direct seeding technique would also mitigate the labour woes faced by farmers ahead of each paddy season. Since labour for transplantation is getting expensive, use of DSR would help farmers safe on cost of production.

It may be noted that paddy transplantation begins only in June. For the past couple of years, as many districts in Punjab see a drastic fall in its ground water levels, environmental experts have been warning against going ahead with paddy cultivation as it is depleting the groundwater level very fast.

Out of 150 blocks, 117 blocks in the state are categorised as “over exploited”, according to a statement issued in Parliament by the GoI earlier this year.

Water level is going down in Punjab because of cultivation of paddy through transplantation technique. Last year, farmers had shown a keen interest to go in for direct seeding technique and 15.02 lakh acres were brought under this technique. This year, with the announcement of financial aid, the government is hopeful that the area under direct seeded rice would double.

Announcing the government decision to provide financial aid for DSR, Mann exhorted farmers to also convince their relatives and friends to adopt this new technique. “Most districts are in red zone as underground water level is declining rapidly,” he said.