CM launches fourth phase of Green Tractor Scheme

LAHORE, Sep 23 (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday launched the fourth phase of the Green Tractor Scheme through digital balloting and opened the application portal for its fifth phase, under which 19,500 tractors will be provided to farmers during the current fiscal year.

The CM pressed a button to conduct the digital balloting, with Masood Khan, son of Lal Khan, from Attock becoming the first successful applicant to receive a tractor under Phase IV.

Under Phase IV, 10,000 tractors ranging from 50 to 65 horsepower will be provided with a subsidy of Rs750,000 per tractor, while 9,500 high-powered tractors of 75 to 125 horsepower will be offered under Phase V with a subsidy of Rs1 million each.

According to a briefing, the Punjab government has allocated Rs17.6 billion for the Green Tractor Scheme, while 24,000 tractors have already been provided to farmers under the programme with a subsidy of Rs1 million per tractor.

More than 213,637 farmers applied for the scheme, of whom 128,757 were declared eligible for balloting after verification through the Punjab Land Records Authority and Nadra.

The CM congratulated the successful applicants and inspected tractors being offered under the scheme, including locally manufactured 90-horsepower and locally assembled 100-horsepower models.

The briefing highlighted the expansion of agricultural mechanisation in Punjab, stating that 10,000 tractors had been provided to farmers during the previous 20 years compared with 35,000 tractors distributed during Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s two-and-a-half-year tenure.

Similarly, Rs3 billion had been spent on agricultural mechanisation over two decades, compared with Rs20 billion during the last two-and-a-half years, it added.

Punjab has also witnessed local manufacturing of 90-horsepower tractors and assembly of 100-horsepower tractors for the first time.

Farmers owning five acres or more of agricultural land were eligible to apply for the scheme. District-wise quotas were fixed according to the proportion of cultivated land, with Bhakkar, Jhang, Lodhran and Vehari among the districts allocated relatively higher shares.

Provincial Agriculture Minister Ashiq Kirmani said five locally manufactured tractor models had been included in the scheme and the initiative had also contributed to an increase in tractor manufacturing and sales in Punjab.