Yogi govt withdraws 868 stubble burning cases against farmers

Lucknow, Sep 16 (IANS) The Yogi Adityanath government has issued an order withdrawing 868 cases of stubble burning registered against farmers in Uttar Pradesh.The order comes two weeks after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that the government will withdraw cases of stubble burning pending against farmers.The order was issued on Wednesday night by additional chief secretary, home, Avanish Awasthi.Awasthi said these cases will be withdrawn by each district and intimated to the law and home departments within a week.Another officer said that the state government is committed to the welfare and betterment of the farmers.As per records available with the police, around 1,500 FIRs were lodged against farmers across 38 districts of the state for stubble burning.Of these, charge sheets were filed in 868 cases while the remaining were either closed with a final report for absence of evidence or expunged for some reason.This is a move by the Yogi Adityanath government to appease farmers who have been agitating against three contentious farm laws since last year.

--IANS amita/dpb