AN IRRESISTIBLE PROPOSITION

Amrinder Singhji  has no excuse  !

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Of late , everyone is blaming the Punjab farmers for the smog enveloping Delhi

To prepare their fields for sowing of wheat ( within 15 days after reaping paddy ), these farmers have been burning the paddy stubble ( stalk )

If they had to remove the stubble from the earth , they would need two machines costing approx. Rs 2 lakhs – money they don’t have

In the past 4 days , following news appeared :

DNA ( 17 Nov )

“ How much paddy stubble can we use in thermal power plants ? “

A four member bench of The National Green Tribunal , headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar directed NTPC to submit by next Tuesday as to how much crop or paddy residue it can use as raw material with coal to produce electricity

Indian Express  (  18 Nov  )

“ NTPC to buy farm stubble at Rs 5,500 per tonne “

Power Minister R K Singh on Thursday said that state-run NTPC will float tender to buy farm stubble at Rs 5,500 per tonne for power plants , a move that will check farmers from burning it – a key source of pollution in in NCR

He said this move will help farmers earn around Rs 11,000 per acre from the sale of straw

“ On an average a farmer gets around 2 tonnes of stubble or straw in an acre “ , said Singh at a press conference

Now , Punjab farmers grow paddy in 3 million acres

That means 6 million tonnes of stubble ( @ 2 tonnes / acre )

At Rs 5,500 per tonne , this will amount to Rs 3,300 crore of windfall income - all in a span of 15 days !

And to enable this , all that is required is 30,000 pairs of machines ( costing , approx. Rs 600 crores )

For details , read :

Smog in Brain ?  [  10  Nov  2017  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.in/2017/11/smog-in-brain.html

In this blog ( emailed to Policy Makers ) , I had suggested that Shri Amrinder Singhji ( CM – Punjab ) , allot Rs 600 crore to buy those 30,000 pairs of machines , to be owned by a FARM HELP SPV and which can remove those 6 million tonnes of stubble within a small window of 15 days

Imagine the SPV recovering ( through renting of machines ) , Rs 600 crores in 15 days – leaving a neat sum of Rs 2,600 crore in the hands of the farmers-( Rs 3300 - 600 cr )

I wonder :

Can any Chief Minister have any excuse not to help farmers of his own State and millions of residents of a neighbouring state ?

21  Nov  2017

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