Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua on Thursday directed all the Deputy Commissioners to make proper arrangements in their respective districts to prevent stubble burning by all means.

Janjua, presiding over a meeting with all Deputy Commissioners and state’s senior officials, said that special efforts are being made by the Chief Minister to make farmers sensitize about the menace. Financial assistance is also being provided to the farmers for purchase of happy seeder and other such tools for further reduction of stubble and for stubble management, he said.

The Chief Secretary said that the State Government is taking special initiative to promote management of stubble instead of burning it to save the environment from pollution.

He asked officials to make farmers aware that if anyone found burning the stubble, that farmer will get a red entry in his revenue record, and he may be deprived of many government schemes. “Due to the increase in pollution levels in north India due to stubble burning, Punjab has to face embarrassment at the national level in the past so farmers should be made aware of stubble management instead of burning it,” he said.

He said that although there is a law regarding non-burning of straw, incidents of burning of straw were reported from many places.

Reviewing the stubble management and distribution of machines or tools in each district, the Chief Secretary said that the District Administration should make the farmers aware of environmental protection through various means and explain to them how much damage is caused by stubble and paddy burning.