To solve the problem of heavy pollution due to burning of stubble in national capital New Delhi every year, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has suggested converting of stubble into organic fertilizer and liking of agriculture with MNREGA to enable farmers to easily do it.
The Chief Minister on Tuesday while talking with reporters here at his chamber in Mantrayala said that every year during September to October, nearly 35 million tons of stubbles are burnt in Punjab and Haryana.
“There are two reasons for this- to cultivate wheat crop immediately after paddy, and unavailability of cheaper mode for disposing stubbles, though farmers are aware that burning adversely affects the fertility of the land and also causes severe pollution,” he said.
Presenting few facts he said according to a survey, burning of stubble causes increase in pollution-level of Delhi by 42-46%, making the residents of Delhi 50% more prone to diseases such as asthma, cough and others. It is certainly a dangerous situation, he added.
Farmers are burning an important raw material they can utilize for making organic fertilizers because of financial crisis and people of Delhi are suffering health problems due to the same, Baghel pointed out.
If Central Government gives instructions that through MNREGA the stubble should be converted into organic fertilizers instead of being burnt, then it would not only manufacture a large quantity of organic fertilizer but would also prevent pollution, he suggested.
100kg of stubble can manufacture nearly 60kg of pure organic fertilizer. This means nearly 35 million tons of stubble can be converted into 2.10 crore tons of organic fertilizer. This would not only improve fertility of agriculture land in Punjab but would also decrease the chances of cancer, he claimed.