Ravi Dhaliwal
Gurdaspur, October 14
Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak vehemently denied that the district administration had made a ‘red entry’ in the revenue records of each of the six farmers who had engaged in the burning of paddy stubble.
Paddy not harvested, farmer told to pay fine
A penalty of Rs 2,500 has been imposed on Narain Singh of Dhaula village in Barnala for burning stubble even though he has not harvested his crop yetHe took 8.5 acres of land on a lease from Lakhwinder Singh, who is settled in Canada. A message regarding the burning of stubble was first sent to the landownerPatwari Mahinder Singh said after getting a satellite image, he had recommended the issuance of a notice as per the khasra number of the land
The minister’s denial comes days after the district administration actually made red entries in the revenue records of the erring farmers. The administration had also issued a press release on October 11, saying it had made such entries.
A red entry automatically ensures that the erring farmers will not be able to take a loan against their farmland. Also, they can’t sell or mortgage their land. Sources disclosed that the minister backtracked after sensing the anger of the farmers, who recently threatened to launch an agitation.
The decision to punish farmers this way had irked various farm unions. Leaders had taken up the issue with Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ishfaq on Wednesday at the latter’s office. Heated arguments took place with the farmers squarely blaming the DC for making these entries in their records. The bureaucrat was clearly on the back foot while defending the government’s policy even as he made all-out efforts to smoothen ruffled feathers.
On his part, the DC said no such entries had been made. “All we have done is identify farmers who had burnt stubble and a general entry was made in their revenue records. This, in any way, does not amount to a red entry,” he added.
Farm unions were quick to rubbish the DC’s claims. “The DC has actually asked revenue officials to make red entries. How can he go back on his decision?” said Satbir Singh Sultani, general secretary of the state unit of the Kirti Kisan Union.
Kataruchak was in the grain market today to check whether the paddy procurement process was going on smoothly or not.
A senior officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that last month, the state government had sent a communication to all DCs across the state, directing them to keep a record of farmers indulging in stubble-burning by making a red mark in their records. Officials admit that small and marginal farmers with two to five acres of landholdings were not in a position to buy heavy machinery to deal with stubble-burning. “They own lightweight tractors, which can’t pull heavy machines for the in-situ management of stubble,” said an official.
