MLA Urges Govt Support for Farmers Shifting to Maize

Chandigarh : Punjab Vidhan Sabha Public Accounts Committee Chairman and Congress MLA from Kapurthala, Rana Gurjeet Singh, has urged the Centre and state government to support farmers transitioning from water-intensive paddy to maize cultivation.
Highlighting the alarming depletion of groundwater, he stressed the need for crop diversification as a sustainable solution. He pointed out that while Punjab once had 8-10 lakh hectares under cotton, factors like easy access to irrigation and pest infestations have led to a drastic decline, with cotton cultivation now limited to just 98,000 hectares.

To encourage farmers, he proposed financial assistance of ₹10,000 per acre from the state government and ₹15,000 per acre from the Centre to facilitate the shift to maize farming.