To ensure efficient management of crop stubble in the State, Haryana Government has decided to establish a plant at Karnal to generate electricity from crop residue.
The plant would be set up at a cost of Rs 1.15 crore. Process in this regard has been initiated by the Municipal Corporation, Karnal and target has been set to make the plant functional by October, said an official spokesman.
He said that a decision to this effect has been taken by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as Haryana is a major producer of wheat, and farmers followed the practice of burning crop residues after harvest, which caused pollution but is also illegal.
The spokesman said that methane would be produced by treating crop residues, along with effluents, in effluent treatment plant of slaughterhouse on Karnal-Kachwa road.
This gas would be used to operate generator sets, which would generate electricity. After meeting the needs of the slaughterhouse, the remaining electricity would be supplied to the Grid. As many as 10 tonnes of crop residues would be treated in the plant per day, he added.
In Haryana, crop stubble burning in both Rabi and Kharif seasons has emerged as a menace in this region, causing severe environmental problems. The illegal practice of burning crop residue has continued unabated in parts of Punjab and Haryana despite a Government ban on it, further aggravating the problem of air pollution in last November.
After witnessing severe levels of air pollution in the national capital region (NCR) due to stubble burning last year, Haryana Government has proposed to set up six paddy straw based power projects in the State.
In May, the Hisar-based Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC) had begun examining satellite data and observed about 4,300 major crop fire points in the entire State. The satellite data had recorded more than 600 crop burning points in Karnal district followed by 534 in Sonepat, 501 in Jind, 335 in Sirsa, 324 in Fatehabad, 319 in Panipat, 267 in Kaithal, 256 in Rohtak, 240 in Hisar and 211 in Jhajjar during the harvesting season.