Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday, 17 November, promised farmers that old cases of stubble burning against them will be dropped. However, he also told them not to set the paddy straw on fire in future, news agency PTI reported.
Further, CM Channi also vowed to cancel all FIRs against farmers, which were registered in Punjab, during their protests against the Centre's three farm laws.
He announced that the Punjab government will raise the compensation for the loss of the cotton crop from Rs 12,000 to Rs 17,000 per acre as well, PTI reported.
All these decisions were announced during a meeting with the representatives of Punjab's 32 farm bodies in Chandigarh.
The dropping of cases of stubble burning comes with the condition that no farmer will, from here on out, set stubble on fire in future. If they do, the government will act strictly against the violation, Channi said.
Channi's statement also comes in the wake of severe pollution in Delhi-NCR, while there has been a rise in the incidents of stubble burning with Punjab recording over 69,000 incidents this season, PTI reported.
Expressing solidarity with bereaved families of farmers, who lost their breadwinners during farmers' agitation, the chief minister said the state government has already provided government jobs to 152 victim families, besides giving a financial aid of Rs 5 lakh to each of them.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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