Multan: Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo has said that the harvest season for rice is currently underway across the Punjab province, with strict enforcement measures being implemented against farmers engaging in stubble burning.
Under the Punjab Agriculture Department’s directives, efforts to curb rice stubble burning have intensified. So far, 1,289 cases of stubble burning have been reported, covering an area of approximately 1,700 acres across Punjab. To address these violations, 196 FIRs have been filed, and fines exceeding Rs 15 million have been levied against those responsible, Secretary Agriculture said in a statement issued here on Saturday.
He highlighted that the Punjab Agriculture Department has established 22 Anti-Smog Squads to monitor and guide farmers on sustainable practices adding that eleven of these squads were stationed along the motorway to ensure greater compliance.
In a proactive effort to reduce stubble burning, the Punjab government, under the Chief Minister Maryam N
awaz Sharif’s Smog Control Program, was providing 5,000 super seeders at a 60% subsidy, with a total investment of Rs five billion, he added.
The secretary agriculture maintained that1,000 super seeders have been distributed so far and daily use of these machines covers thousands of acres. Farmers were not only utilizing these super seeders for their own fields but were also renting them out, making them more accessible to others.
The use of super seeders has led to a significant reduction in stubble burning, marking a positive step toward controlling smog and promoting environmentally-friendly farming practices in Punjab, he concluded.