Punjab Government to compensate farmers who diversify

Chandigarh, March 3

The Punjab Government will work out ways to adequately compensate farmers who come out of the wheat-paddy crop cycle, particularly those increasing the forest cover, said Forest Minister Sadhu Singh Dharmsot in reply to a question raised by MLA Avtar Singh Junior during the Question Hour here today.

Why the Centre does not want Punjab to diversify

Raising concern over the fast depleting forest cover of the state, Henry said Jalandhar had less than 0.5 per cent forest area left and Hoshiarpur and Ropar had about 20 per cent. Farmers needed to be duly compensated for the period during which they could not grow any crop on their land, he added.

‘Crop diversification need of hour’

Minister Dharmsot said he would take up the matter with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. In response to the Forest Department claims of providing 11.98 lakh plants and 30 lakh saplings separately during 2019-2020 for increasing the forest cover in the state, AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan said the government did not have any mechanism to evaluate the success or failures of the plantation drives carried out.

AAP MLA Aman Arora said the government claims of all districts, blocks and villages of the state being ‘Open Defecation Free’ were bogus, giving example with photographs of places where people did not have any facilities. Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Razia Sultana replied that the villages under questions had ‘perhaps’ never applied for the scheme.

In reply to a question by MLA Rajinder Beri on problems being faced by the public on online submission of building plans, Local Government Minister Brahm Mohindra said the online process showed correct progress of the case and it will also be made time-bound. — TNS

Mid-day meal workers may get pay hike

Replying to a query by BJP MLA Arun Narang on inadequate honorarium being paid to mid-day meal workers, Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said “against the amount of Rs 600 paid by the Centre, we are paying Rs1,700 a month... we have forwarded a proposal to the Finance department for increasing the amount to Rs 3,000”

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