Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the Delhi Government will start spraying “Pusa bio-decomposer” solution from October 11 to prevent stubble burning in non-basmati rice fields in the national Capital.
The statement came following his visit to Kharkhari Nahar village to review the bio-decomposer process under which the capsules produced by Pusa Agricultural Institute are mixed along with readily available inputs to create a fermented liquid solution to be sprayed on the farm fields to soften the stubble to curb stubble burning.
The Chief Minister said the entire cost of the process of creating the liquid solution for spraying it on 700 hectares of farm fields in Delhi is just Rs 20 lakh, which proves that it is a cheap alternative for the farmers and can be adopted by neighbouring States.
Kejriwal also met the farmers and scientists to discuss the working and the efficacy of the process.
Addressing the media, Kejriwal said, “The harvesting of paddy leaves behind hard stubble on the farm fields and farmers’ have to get rid of this owing to the less time between the harvesting and sowing season of the crops. They then used to resort to stubble burning, due to which the healthy bacteria on the farm fields used to get damaged. The smoke came as a health hazard for the farmers and their families and people living in those villages and the entire North Indian region.”
“Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, PUSA, have found a low-cost, simple and effective way to deal with the problem of stubble burning. Today onwards, the Delhi government has started the process of preparing this solution under the guidance of the institute, and will be starting the process of spraying it on the fields across Delhi from October 11,” he said.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, “In Delhi, the stubble burning is significantly lesser than the neighbourhood States. The stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other States contribute nearly 45 per cent of air pollution in Delhi. Keeping this in mind, the Delhi Government and the Pusa institute has come up with this new idea of bio decomposers,” he said.
“We want to make Delhi a role model, so that the other States can make no excuses for avoiding stubble burning. States all over India can adopt the bio-decomposer technique of converting stubble into manure, so that the people of Delhi can get relief from the pollution due to stubble burning,” he said.
Rai said the Government has also approached all the State Governments to follow the technique. “We will again reach out to the State Governments and urge them to adopt this policy after getting positive results. The work has started and nearly 1,200 farmers who want to adopt this technique have registered. We will start spraying of solution on their farm lands soon,” Rai added.