Haryana: Nayab Singh Saini Govt's 'Stubble Burning' Order Spells Trouble For Farmers

Haryana News: Day after taking oath of office, the Haryana Chief Minister-led cabinet took a decisive decision to tackle the issue of stubble burning in the state. The Haryana Department of Agriculture on Friday announced that an FIR will be registered against farmers who will engage in this practice.

Furthermore, a “red entry” will be recorded in their farm records, which will not allow them to sell their crops through the e-Kharid portal for the next two seasons.

The order dated October 17, 2024, comes in response to the prevailing concerns over the quality of air and environmental degradation caused by crop residue burning.

“Farmers who burn stubble, an FIR should be registered against them, and a red entry should be made in their farm records restricting them from selling their crops in Mandis through the e-Kharid portal during the next two seasons,” the order stated.

Farmers who burn stubble an FIR should be registered against them and a Red entry should be made in their farm records restricting them from selling their crops in Mandis through the e-Kharid portal during the next two seasons, says the Department of Agriculture, Haryana pic.twitter.com/3wm3Jstatn

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2024

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court pulled up the Punjab and Haryana governments over the non-prosecution of violators found guilty of stubble burning while summoning the state chief secretaries to appear before it on October 23 for an explanation.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Maish pointed out "complete insensitivity" on the part of both states, directing the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to take penal action against both government officials for the failure to take action against the violators.

Stubble burning is a major contributor to the rising pollution levels in the national capital.

The apex court was upset over the Punjab and Haryana governments not taking any steps to implement the directions issued by the CAQM in the national capital region (NCR) in June 2021 to stop stubble burning.

"This is not a political matter. If the chief secretary is acting at somebody's behest, we will issue summons against them as well. Next Wednesday (October 23), we are going to physically call for the chief secretary and explain everything. Nothing has been done; the same is with the Punjab government. The attitude is of complete defiance," the bench remarked, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Reacting to Haruana government's decision, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala dubbed it "anti-farmer conspiracy" of the BJP. "On the very first day of the formation of the Haryana government, the BJP government issued an order to abolish the MSP of farmers. On one hand, an FIR will be registered against the farmer for burning stubble and on the other hand, the farmers' crop will not be purchased at MSP for 2 years. This is a direct anti-farmer conspiracy of the BJP government led by Nayab Singh Saini because farmers did not vote for the BJP in Haryana...Is this not a direct conspiracy to abolish MSP through the backdoor? If farmers do not burn stubble, what is the alternative? Will Nayab Singh Saini tell how many farmers of Haryana have been provided a Happy seeder Machine? Even after giving a 50 per cent subsidy, the cost of Happy seeder Machine to the farmer is up to Rs 75 thousand, where will the poor and small farmers get this money from?"

"...Does Nayab Singh Saini know that both the farmers and the Punjab Agricultural University are saying that the Happy Seeder Machine reduces the productivity of farming?...Has the government conducted any research?...(Haryana government should answer these questions and immediately withdraw this Tughlaqi decree. Otherwise be ready for a nationwide movement," he further stated.

#WATCH | Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "On the very first day of the formation of the Haryana government, the BJP government issued an order to abolish the MSP of farmers. On one hand, an FIR will be registered against the farmer for burning stubble and on the other… pic.twitter.com/Ed1HspChTg

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2024

(With PTI Inputs)