Paddy straw can be used for biomass, bio-CNG and fuel industries, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
Stating that stubble burning is not the sole cause of pollution in Delhi-NCR, the minister said paddy straw is a valuable resource that can be used for biomass, bio-CNG and fuel industries. He was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
He said that through ex-situ management, cluster-based supply chains, and bundling and transport systems, paddy straw is being converted into feedstock for pellet manufacturing, thermal power plants, biomass industries, bio-CNG and fuel production.
The minister stated that pollution in Delhi-NCR is not caused solely by stubble burning or by farmers. He said scientific studies have established that even during winter, stubble burning contributes no more than 5 per cent to pollution, while a much larger share comes from industrial emissions and vehicular pollution. Repeatedly blaming farmers, he added, is therefore unjustified.
He acknowledged that stubble burning destroys beneficial insects, nutrients and organic carbon, reduces soil fertility and increases pollution. To address this, under the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme, farmers receive a 50 per cent subsidy on stubble management machines, while Farmer Producer Organisations and institutions receive an 80 per cent subsidy for setting up Custom Hiring Centres.
So far, more than 3.5 lakh machines have been distributed in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh-including 1,60,296 machines in Punjab, 1,10,550 in Haryana and 76,135 in Uttar Pradesh. He said incidents of stubble burning have declined as a result.
In Meerut, Shamli, Hapur, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Baghpat and Gautam Buddh Nagar, 11 pellet manufacturing plants have been set up and storage capacity of 32.63 thousand tonnes has been created to convert stubble into a usable resource.
Praising the Haryana model, the minister said the state provides ₹1,000 per acre for in-situ and ex-situ management, ₹7,000 per acre under the “Mera Pani–Meri Virasat” scheme for shifting from paddy to other crops, ₹4,000 per acre for Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), ₹1,00,000 to red-zone panchayats and ₹50,000 to yellow-zone panchayats for not burning stubble, and ₹500 per transport, up to ₹15,000, for supplying stubble to gaushalas.
