Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Thursday said that farmers in the state have procured 16,227 Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines during the ongoing Kharif season. The Punjab Government has released ₹183 crore in subsidy to support the purchase of more than 10,000 CRM machines.
Reviewing preparations for the upcoming Rabi season, Khudian said the government is providing a 50% subsidy to individual farmers and 80% subsidy to Custom Hiring Centres, FPOs, cooperative societies and gram panchayats for CRM machinery.
He said Punjab’s ₹576-crore action plan for 2026-27 has helped reduce stubble-burning cases by 90%, from 49,922 in 2022 to 5,114 in 2025. The minister urged farmers to avoid crop residue burning and adopt scientific residue management practices.
Khudian also directed officials to ensure timely availability of fertilisers and take strict action against any malpractice in fertiliser distribution. Officials informed the meeting that Punjab currently has over 3.92 lakh metric tonnes of urea and 5 lakh metric tonnes of DAP in stock for the Rabi season.
