Bathinda: Punjab govt has prepared a Rs 26.31-crore action plan to eliminate stubble burning by raising awareness among farmers, even as crop residue burning has declined considerably in recent years.Of the total allocation, Rs 3.34 crore has been earmarked for Punjab Agricultural University for training and NSS involvement; Rs 6 crore for the information and public relations department for print, television, radio and outdoor media; Rs 4.98 crore for information, education and communication (IEC); Rs 50 lakh for an SMS campaign; Rs 30 lakh each for social media and content creation; Rs 50 lakh for recognising panchayats, FPOs and PACS; Rs 60 lakh for demonstrations; Rs 6 crore for bio-decomposer; Rs 45 lakh for training and stakeholder conferences; Rs 2 crore for activities through the PMU; and Rs 1.33 crore for new initiatives.The action plan has been submitted to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).The IEC plan, with a Rs 4.9-crore allocation, includes organising demonstrations; conducting essay, debate and painting competitions in schools; deploying publicity vans; holding village- and block-level camps; mobilising ASHA workers in villages; distributing print literature; staging nukkad nataks; holding sarpanch meetings; and identifying 10 progressive farmers per block.A total of 151 blocks across all 23 districts have been identified for awareness activities.The plan highlights that localised stubble burning continues in some areas due to operational constraints, behavioural patterns and delays in timely paddy straw management.For the Kharif season 2026, the IEC strategy has been designed to strengthen farmer outreach through a combination of field demonstrations, mass media campaigns, community participation and digital communication.The plan aims to raise awareness among farmers about the environmental, agricultural and health impacts of stubble burning; promote in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management through demonstrations and field-level outreach; improve utilisation of CRM machinery, Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) and straw-management infrastructure; strengthen digital and local publicity; and involve panchayats, FPOs, PACS, educational institutions and local communities to reduce stubble-burning incidents.The IEC strategy will focus on sustained behavioural change through farmer-oriented and community-based communication, emphasising positive messaging, peer learning, field demonstrations and local success stories to promote sustainable crop residue management.Special emphasis shall be placed on communicating the economic and agronomic benefits of CRM technologies, including improvement in soil health, timely sowing of wheat and efficient utilisation of available CRM machinery and Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs).Purpose | AllocationPunjab Agricultural University – training & NSS involvement | Rs 3.3 croreInformation & Public Relations – print, TV, radio & outdoor media | Rs 6 croreInformation, Education & Communication (IEC) | Rs 4.9 croreSMS campaign | Rs 50 lakhSocial media campaign | Rs 30 lakhContent creation | Rs 30 lakhRecognition of panchayats, FPOs & PACS | Rs 50 lakhDemonstrations | Rs 60 lakhBio-decomposer | Rs 6 croreTraining & stakeholder conferences | Rs 45 lakhActivities through PMU | Rs 2 croreNew initiatives | Rs 1.3 crore
