LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi on Wednesday said that core paddy area should be surveyed for facilitation of farmers with the provision of modern machinery for disposal of crop residuals.
Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi was presiding over a meeting held to review disposal of crop residues here in Civil Secretariat on Wednesday.
He said the Punjab government was striving to promote pollution-free agriculture and in this regard, awareness was being provided to the farmers.
In the meeting, Secretary Agriculture Ahmad Aziz Tarar and representatives of the Judicial Water and Environment Commission, established for control of smog, Hina Hafeez Ullah Ishaq and Syed Kamal Ali Haider also participated.
Briefing the meeting, Director General Agriculture Extension Dr. Anjum Ali said that 2269 cases of setting fire to paddy residue had been reported this year, while 3224 cases were reported last year. This year there were incidents of paddy burning on 8,733 acres while last year it was 11,619, he added.
Under the directions of Lahore High Court, 702 FIRs were registered against people involved in setting fire to rice residues. The Agriculture department set up 18000 village volunteer committees to create awareness among the farmers, he added.
On this occasion, Director Agricultural Information Muhammad Rafiq Akhtar, while giving a briefing, said that print, electronic and social media were also being used effectively for the awareness of farmers. So far, the department of Agriculture had also distributed more than 0.1 million copies of literature for the awareness of the farmers, he added.
On the occasion, the Minister proposed to the Judicial Water and Environment Commission to fine those who set fire to paddy residue on the basis of land holding so that small farmers can get relief.
The representatives of the Commission said that they were also examining the amount of arsenic in water by visiting Kasur, Chichawatani and Sahiwal areas to ensure availability of clean water in these areas along with control of smog.
