Punjab Demands Release of Pending Rural Development Fund, Cites Drop in Stubble Burning Cases

Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian has urged the Centre to release the state’s pending Rural Development Fund (RDF) dues amounting to ₹8,800 crore, stating that mere verbal acknowledgment of Punjab’s efforts to curb stubble burning is not sufficient. The minister said that Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had acknowledged in the Lok Sabha that incidents of crop residue burning in Punjab and Haryana have declined by more than 90 percent since 2022. He added that farmers in Punjab have worked diligently to control such incidents. Khuddian emphasized that despite these efforts, the Centre has not released the funds due to the state under the Rural Development Fund. He reiterated the demand for immediate disbursal of ₹8,800 crore, stating that Punjab has even approached the Supreme Court in pursuit of its pending dues, but the funds have not yet been released. He further pointed out that for a long time, Punjab was solely blamed for deteriorating air quality in Delhi. However, he said that satellite data from the Centre itself has now disproved these allegations. Highlighting the state government’s initiatives, the minister said that during the financial year 2025–26, Punjab provided ₹416 crore in subsidies to farmers for purchasing crop residue management machinery. An additional ₹600 crore has been allocated for the same purpose for the financial year 2026–27.