New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal initiated the process of making the bio-decomposer solution in collaboration with Pusa Institute at Kharkhari Nahar area in the Capital. He urged the neighbouring states to help their farmers in decomposing stubble just the way the Delhi Government had done it — and completely substitute stubble burning as a solution for crop stubble.
The respective government of the state should bear the expenditure of preparing and spraying the solution to ensure no farmer ends up burning stubble, CM Kejriwal said. The Commission For Air Quality Management has ordered all states to use the bio-decomposer so that the problem of stubble burning can be solved but several states are either incentivising farmers who use it or are just giving them the capsule without spraying the solutions themselves.
"If the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments especially implement the solution with the seriousness of an emergency, then we'll be able to get rid of the problem. The Commission For Air Quality Management too has now taken cognisance of the bio-decomposer and asked the states to implement the solution to get rid of stubble burning," the chief minister said.
The Delhi government last year, had sprayed the bio decomposer on 1,950 acres of farmland which helped around 300 farmers in the city. Following their feedback and a green light from a third-party agency of the Centre, the government will now be helping 844 farmers in the city who will be getting the solution sprayed on about 4,200 acres of land after seeing its performance.
Last time, the government sprayed it on only non-basmati paddy fields, this time it will spray it on basmati paddy fields as well and cover almost all the farmlands in the capital. The spraying is set to begin from October 5. The Delhi government in a statement said that the bio decomposer developed by it is the most cost-effective and efficient solution for stubble till now and that it merely comes under Rs. 1,000 per acre.
The bio-decomposer solution is being prepared in collaboration with ICAR-Pusa in the Horticulture Department Nursery, Kharkhari Nahar for the entire Delhi at one place. Wherever
the demand for sprinkling arises, the solution will be provided from Kharkhari Nahar. The government will provide free spraying through its Agriculture Department.
The stubble decomposes within 15-20 days of spraying the solution and turns into fertiliser. Stubble was earlier a liability for the framers when it had to be burnt, but now, once it decomposes, it turns into an asset, the CM said.
When stubble is burnt, nutrients and good bacteria of the soil also tend to get eradicated but when it is decomposed using the solution, it enriches the soil, the state government said in a statement.
Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that when all the state governments together move towards the solution of stubble decomposition, only then its solution is possible. "States need to cooperate in order to curb pollution in North India and need to treat this as an emergency," Rai said.