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Chouhan & Yadav hold joint meeting in New Delhi on stubble management
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Friday, 10 October, 2025, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chaired a crucial meeting on stubble management in New Delhi along with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav. The meeting, held at Krishi Bhavan, was attended virtually by Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Haryana Agriculture Minister Shyam Singh Rana, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, and Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
The meeting focused on strategies to curb air pollution caused by stubble burning, promote better utilisation of paddy residue, and enhance awareness, financial support, monitoring, crop management, and diversification among farmers.
At the outset, the Agriculture Ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh briefed the Union Agriculture Minister on the status of stubble management in their respective states and informed that implementation of stubble management schemes is being carried out with full alertness and commitment. They assured that their officers and field departments are actively engaged in the task.
The Haryana Agriculture Minister highlighted that the state is encouraging farmers not to burn stubble by providing financial assistance, which has had a significant positive impact, motivating farmers to adopt alternative stubble management methods.
Appreciating the efforts of the States, Chouhan said that while commendable work is being done in this regard, continuous and sustained efforts are necessary to achieve larger goals. He emphasised that public awareness among farmers is crucial and suggested that panchayats, local representatives, and nodal officers should be actively involved at the village level to achieve better outcomes.
Chouhan further discussed issues related to crop management, direct seeding, diversification, effective utilisation of allocated funds, monitoring mechanisms, and the formulation of practical, target-oriented action plans. He said that by adopting concrete, coordinated measures, tangible and positive results will definitely follow.
The Union Minister urged state agriculture ministers to promote direct seeding in their respective regions. Chouhan announced that he will personally begin direct wheat sowing in his own field on October 12, immediately after the paddy harvesting process, to set an example for farmers.
“When farmers see me doing it, they too will be encouraged to adopt direct sowing,” the Union Minister remarked. He also urged farmers to use rotavators, choppers, bio-decomposers, and mulching equipment, and to promote bio-CNG and ethanol plants to utilise crop residues effectively.
Highlighting the importance of proper fund utilisation, Chouhan directed states to ensure that available funds for stubble management are spent efficiently, so that the availability of machinery does not become an issue. He also stressed the need to prioritise crop diversification as part of long-term efforts. The Union Minister proposed linking bio-CNG, pellet, compost units, industries, and thermal plants with stubble collection and disposal systems to ensure scientific management of crop residue.
Overall, the Union Agriculture Minister underlined the need for training, awareness, capacity building, and real-time monitoring. “With coordinated efforts between the Centre and the states, the incidents of stubble burning will certainly reduce further in the coming days,” he said. “Real-time or on-ground monitoring is essential. I am confident that with sustained efforts, we will achieve better outcomes and succeed in protecting the environment and climate.”
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