Chandigarh, Boosting up efforts of the Punjab government to protect the environment, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday asked the farmers not to burn paddy crop residue in the fields.
Acting on the request of the state Agriculture Department, the SGPC said the preservation of clean and green environment is of foremost significance in view of celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November.
It also instructed all the managers of Sikh shrines that they should ensure strict compliance of directions against stubble burning on the agriculture lands owned by the gurdwaras.
The SGPC also stressed the head 'granthis' or priests to motivate farmers against stubble burning as this practice causes environmental and health hazard.
Earlier, the state had requested the SGPC to issue an advisory to gurdwaras for ensuring zero stubble burning on lands owned by the shrines besides appealing farmers not to burn crop residue in open fields.
The SGPC, considered a mini Parliament of Sikh religious affairs, has control over Sikh religious affairs, manages gurdwaras (Sikh temples) in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, including the holiest of Sikh shrines Harmandir Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, in Amritsar.