Punjab not to allow harvester combines without straw management system to operate

CHANDIGARH: With an aim to ensure cleaner environment, the Punjab government has decided not to allow the harvester combines without straw management system to operate.
The government has already made it mandatory under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 for the combine harvesters to have a super straw management system attached with the harvesters.
Secretary agriculture and nodal officer for control of residue burning campaign Kahan Singh Pannu said that some combine owners out of total 13,000 in the state have not installed the super SMS system just to save the time and cost of operation.
With paddy grown in 67 lakh acres of land in Punjab and just one month left for harvesting of paddy to start, the harvester combines without straw management system will not be allowed to operate and will be impounded with imposition of heavy fines in addition to lodging of cases against them in the courts which entail imprisonment upto 6 years, warned Pannu.
Explaining the salient features of the system, secretary, agriculture pointed out that this system helps the direct wheat sowing with machines such as happy seeders, super seeders and zero till seed drills and thus save the time and money of the farmers. The management of paddy residue in the fields harvested by straw management system fitted combines is quite easy and therefore does not require the farmers to burn the residue, added Pannu.
Listing the incentives provided by the state government, he said that this year the government will provide subsidies ranging from 50% to 80% for the purchase of 23,500 crop residue management machines the use of which will help the farmers to sow wheat without resorting to straw burning. In addition, the state government will also give 50% subsidy to the combine owners for setting up the system on the combines, stated Pannu.