On stubble burning, Khattar said, “Under the scheme to prevent stubble burning and reduce pollution, 1.56 lakh farmers registered for the management of 14 lakh acres, and an incentive amount of Rs 139 crore was provided to the farmers during the year 2023-24. In 2023-24, stubble burning cases also declined by 67 per cent to 2,303 over the previous two years, while 6,987 were recorded in 2021-22.”As the chief minister announced, Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda asked him, “You talk of farmers, then why you slap NSA (National Security Act) on peaceful farmers. Farmers are protesting on Haryana’s borders”.In response, Khattar said the budget is being taken up and he is touching upon steps for farmers’ welfare. “As much farmers are dear to you, they are to us also”.“I have ploughed the field. I am a farmer. I am a son of a farmer I know farmers’ pain. When I have announced a scheme favouring farmers, either you cannot digest it or not liking it,” Khattar said.Reacting to the CM’s announcement, Hooda later told reporters: “The government should have announced loan waiver straightaway as farmers are under heavy debt…there is nothing much in the budget”.‘Farmers get MSP for 14 crops in the state’In an apparent reference to ongoing farmers’ agitation Punjab-Haryana borders, Chief Minister Manohar Lak Khattar asserted that his government has taken several steps for the welfare of the farmers besides providing a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 14 crops. Haryana, having sizable population of farmers, will go for Assembly elections this year as the alliance government of BJP and Jannayak Janta Party (JJU) will complete the five-year term.
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