Centre spent Rs 3,623 crore on steps to curb burning of crop stubble

The Centre has spent Rs 3,623.45 crore connected harvest residue management, since 2018, successful Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh informed successful the Lok Sabha.

Punjab has been allocated the highest magnitude of Rs 1,681.45 crore, followed by Haryana with Rs 1,081.71 crore. Uttar Pradesh was allocated Rs 763.67 crore, NCT of Delhi Rs 6.05 crore, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) got Rs 83.35 crore, according to the figures tabled successful the Lower House.

The funds person been utilized to subsidise harvest residue absorption machinery and acceptable up customized hiring centres (CHCs) to curb stubble burning and beforehand sustainable practices, the curate told the Lower House.

Over 3 lakh machines person been distributed, including 4,500 balers and rakes for collecting paddy straw for ex-situ utilisation, helium said.

The authorities has besides committed to up to Rs 1.4 crore for pelletisation plants and up to Rs 2.8 crore for torrefaction plants, depending connected the plant's capacity. So far, 17 applications for specified plants person been approved, with 15 of them expected to process up to 2.70 lakh tonnes of paddy straw annually, the curate stated.

In 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare launched a strategy aimed astatine supporting the acquisition of harvest residue absorption machinery and the constitution of CHCs successful NCT of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh for in-situ absorption of paddy straw. In 2023, the Ministry revised the scheme's guidelines to heighten enactment for establishing a harvest residue/paddy straw proviso chain, providing fiscal assistance for the superior outgo of machinery and equipment.

In collaboration with authorities authorities and with agencies similar ISRO, ICAR, and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), the authorities has launched a broad enactment program to code the wide contented of harvest residue burning, the curate said.

To negociate harvest residues straight successful the fields, the authorities has allocated harvest residue absorption (CRM) machinery, indispensable for efficaciously handling paddy straw. It has besides introduced high-yield, short-duration paddy varieties arsenic substitutes for PUSA-44.

The authorities has besides mandated the usage of Super Straw Management Systems (SMS) with harvester harvesters, which chop and evenly dispersed the straw crossed the fields, eliminating the request for burning. Additionally, the usage of bio-decomposers developed by IARI is encouraged to people decompose paddy straw, converting it into a invaluable fertiliser.