Union Minister drives tractor in Moga, urges farmers not to burn stubble

Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu on Thursday drove a tractor at Khosa Pando village of Moga and made bundles of straw to urge the people not to burn stubble and manage it in the field itself. The minister was in Moga to chair a meeting to review the works being done under the Aspirational District Programme (ADP) in Moga district.

Launched by the Prime Minister in January 2018, the ADP is run under the Niti Aayog and it aims to quickly and effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts across the country. The broad contours of the programme are convergence of central and state schemes. It also focuses on collaboration of central and state-level nodal officers and district collectors. The minister visited many villages of the district to assess the impact of the ADP.

“There are a lot of bad effects of the smog and it is also seen that stubble burning is one of the main reasons behind it. In Moga, I was delighted to see that there are baler machine to gather stubble for power generation units. This can help stop the smog. I want to request all farmers not to burn stubble,” said the minister. He expressed concern over Punjab’s depleting groundwater levels.