DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH With a view to make Punjab a 'zero stubble burning state', the Punjab Agriculture Department has initiated a massive drive to provide more than 25000 agro-machines/farm equipment to farmers for in-situ management of paddy residue with subsidy component of Rs. 250 crore during the current fiscal. Disclosing this here today, Director Agriculture Sukhdev Singh Sidhu said that the Department had already sanctioned about 430 applications of Cooperative Societies and Panchayats on priority for Balers and primary sowing machines. In the first phase, sanctions of agro-machines have been issued to 246 Panchayats and 185 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS) at a subsidy of 80 percent to establish Farm Machinery Banks (FMBs) to be used as Custom Hiring Centres. He also informed that subsidies ranging from 50 percent to 80 percent is being offered to the farmers under the scheme with 80 percent subsidy to cooperative societies and farmers groups while 50 percent is for individuals. The machinery portal is being reopened from August 2-4, 2021 only for Panchayats, Cooperative societies and FPOs to give them one more opportunity to avail the benefit of these subsidized agri-equipments, said the Director. The State government has focused on delivering state-of-the-art machines to farmers including Super SMS, Happy Seeder, Paddy Straw Chopper/Shredder/Mulcher, Hydraulic Reversible Mould Board Plough and Zero Till Drill. The Director also stated that in order to supply the requisite machinery to farmers, the Agriculture Department has fully geared up to complete the task of distribution of these implements well before paddy harvesting season. Sidhu further said that the Agriculture Department has already initiated Information Education Communication (IEC) activities to educate farmers about the ill-effects of paddy straw burning adding the department organized 1015 Training-cum-Awareness Camps for awareness against stubble burning and promotion of DSR techniques. This awareness campaign was primarily aimed at imparting training to farmers and practical demonstration of equipments for In-Situ Crop Residue Management. He also urged the farmers to make optimum use of subsidized agri-machinery to do away the practice of stubble burning thereby ensuring health and hygiene of the people besides preserving the environment of the state. (editor@dailyworld.in)