New delhi: Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday urged the Centre's newly-constituted air quality management commission to consider spraying the Pusa bio-decomposer in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan as an alternative to stubble burning.
During a press conference here, Rai said that a 15-member impact assessment committee has ascertained the effectiveness of the Pusa bio-decomposer solution in reducing stubble burning in the Capital and it was submitted to the Environment Ministry's Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas on Monday.
He said the commission was informed that the bio-decomposer used in 2,000-acre land in the Capital turned 90-95 per cent crop residue into manure in 15-20 days.
Stubble burning has contributed to the escalation of COVID-19 cases in the last 15 days as it has made Delhi's air more poisonous. We need to find a permanent solution to this problem as we cannot put more lives in danger.
We urge the air quality commission to get the Pusa bio-decomposer sprayed in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan considering its success in Delhi, Rai said. He said that governments could do so at half the cost of providing subsidies to farmers.
Meanwhile, Delhi's overall air quality deteriorated on Tuesday but remained in the "very poor" category with six of the 38 stations recording "severe" air quality, government agencies said.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) mobile application SAMEER, the city's air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 361 in the morning.
The capital's AQI was in the "severe" category on November 15 but it improved since and remained in either the "poor" or the "moderate" category until November 22.