KEY STORY
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Ahead of winter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to direct neighbouring states to compulsorily use Pusa bio-decomposer for tackling stubble burning, in order to prevent air pollution in the national capital.
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The chief minister today said crop residue burning in neighbouring states in the month of October is a major factor behind the noxious air in Delhi, but the farmers should not be blamed for this, as state agencies have not provided them with a solution.
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“The Delhi government, however, believes in finding solutions to problems. Last year, the Delhi government came up with a solution. The Pusa Institute developed a bio-decomposer to tackle the stubble burning problem,” the chief minister said.
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The bio-decomposer was used by farmers on around 1,935 acres of land in 39 villages in the national capital to turn crop residue into manure, Kejriwal said. Later, a third-party audit by WAPCOS, a central agency, found that the use of the innovative technique was very effective, he added.
पराली को गलाने में बायो-डिकम्पोज़र प्रभावी साबित। दिल्ली के किसान बेहद ख़ुश। पड़ोसी राज्य भी इसे ज़रूर अपनाएं | Press Conference LIVE https://t.co/hAfkK2Tasm
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 13, 2021
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The central agency, in its audit report, stated that around 90 per cent of the farmers said that the new innovative technique converted crop residue into manure within 15-20 days, Kejriwal asserted. Also, the content of carbon in the soil of farming fields rose by 40 per cent and nitrogen 24 per cent, bacteria seven times and fungi three times, the chief minister said, adding that the improvement in soil quality led to a 17-20 per cent increase in the sprouting of wheat crop and an 8 per cent increase in overall crop yield.
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“We urge the Central government to ask the governments in neighbouring states to distribute the bio-decomposer free of cost among farmers to prevent them from burning crop residue… In a day or two, I will go to meet the Union Environment Minister and request him to personally intervene in this matter,” the chief minister concluded.
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Toxic air in Delhi-NCR is a year-round problem. The situation, however, worsens in the winter months due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, local sources of pollution and stubble burning in neighbouring regions. In January and February, the first two factors are main offenders as the impact of stubble burning on Delhi’s air quality is low or almost negligible.
