Kejriwal, Rai seek meeting with Union env min to discuss Delhi pollution

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday sought an appointment with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to discuss measures to be taken to reduce pollution in the national capital.

The secretary to the Delhi environment minister wrote a letter to the Union minister's private secretary in this regard.

Kejriwal had on Monday said he would call on the Union environment minister with the audit report of Pusa bio-decompser, a microbial solution that can turn stubble into manure in 15-20 days, and ask him to direct states surrounding Delhi to distribute it for free among farmers.

He had said the audit by a central agency has found the use of Pusa bio-decomposer highly effective.

The Delhi government had experimented with the solution, prepared by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute here, last year.

Former Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar had last year said Pusa bio-decomposer will be tried out in some areas of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and if the technique is found successful, it will be expanded to more areas.

Farmers say there is a small window of 10-15 days between paddy harvesting and sowing of wheat and they burn stubble as it is a cheap and time-saving method to manage the straw and prepare their field for the next crop.

Last year, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's PM2.5 pollution had risen to 40 per cent on November 1.