According to a minister, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved a one-year suspension of the financial aid offered to farmers who engage in stubble burning under the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. Additionally, the Cabinet agreed that for a year, the produce of these farmers would not be bought at the minimum support price (MSP).
“The State Government is taking strict measures to control stubble burning that causes pollution,” State Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday (April 29, 2025). According to him, the government would stop giving farmers who burn their stubble financial aid under the Kisan Samman Nidhi plan, and their produce won’t be bought according to the MSP for a year.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana gives farmers ₹6,000, while the state government contributes a similar amount. The M.P. government gives farmers ₹12,000 annually as Kisan Samman Nidhi. “The State Government doesn’t want to penalise farmers. But our farmer brothers should not cause big losses for small gains, because their own children will also suffer if the environment is impacted,” he said.
He said that environmental protection required the decision. According to Mr. Vijayvargiya, a new transfer policy for state government officials and employees was also authorized by the M.P. Cabinet.
The meeting also made a number of other decisions, he said, including raising the dearness allowance for state government employees by 5% and bringing it up to the level of central government employees, as Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had previously declared.
