Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that Punjab government will implement the order of the Supreme Court directing Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to give incentives for small and marginal farmers who shun stubble-burning.
"Centre would have to come to the rescue of the states, which were facing serious fiscal constraints. While the GST regime had stifled the financial resources of all states, Punjab, in particular, was in dire straits in view of its massive debt burden, he noted."
The Chief Minister also welcomed the Supreme Court's observation that a committee to be set up by the court would consider all the detailed reports to finally decide the issue of the source of this funding will be decided finally by the court.
However, the amount would have to be paid by the state government.
"Though the Supreme Court had left the amount of incentive to be paid to farmers to be determined by the respective state governments, it did take note of the observation of the high-level task force of the Government of India that the expenditure incurred by farmers on managing the crop residue in sutu was Rs 100 per quintal, which is the sum Captain Amarinder has also been demanding," read an official press release.
The Chief Minister said that the court's intervention would also lead to a political consensus on the issue.
Singh had been personally pursuing the demand for Rs 100 a quintal to wean the farmers away from the deadly practice of burning the paddy straw as the only effective solution to the problem.
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"It was unfortunate that political blame games had prevented a consensus on this so long, he said.
The decision comes after the top court took cognisance of the matter of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana and other meteorological factors pushing Delhi's air quality level down to the 'very poor' category.
The apex court asked the Punjab and Haryana government to ensure that stubble is not burned in the future.