Measures to Reduce Pollution Due to Stubble Burning

PIB Delhi – The Government is rigorously taking up  theissue of pollution caused due to stubble burning in NCR. The Commission on Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has developed a framework and action plan for effective prevention and control of Stubble Burning. The framework / action plan includes:

1. In-situ Crop Residue Management- Supported by CRM Scheme of Ministry of Agriculture for the activities – CRM machines procurement, setting up of Custom Hiring Centers, high yield and short duration paddy varieties, staggering of harvesting schedule, extensive use of bio-decomposer by IARI
2. Ex-situ Crop Residue Management- Alternative usage of paddy straw viz. Biomass Power Projects, Co-firing in Thermal Power Plants, Feed stock for 2G Ethanol plants, Feed stock in Compressed Biogas plant, fuel in industrial boilers, WTE plants, packaging materials etc.
3. Prohibition of stubble / crop residue burning
4. Effective monitoring / enforcement
5. Schemes to reduce the generation of paddy straw
6. IEC activities for the plan of action
7. Standard protocol for recording and monitoring of fire counts.

To support the efforts of the Governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to address air pollution and to subsidize machinery required for management of crop residue, a Central Sector Scheme on ‘Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi’ is being implemented from 2018-19. Under this scheme financial assistance @ 50% of the cost of machinery is provided to the farmers for purchase of identified crop residue management machinery and financial assistance @ 80% of the project cost is provided to the Cooperative Societies of Farmers, Farmers Producers Organization (FPOs), Registered Farmers Societies and Panchayats for establishment of Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) of identified crop residue management machinery. During the period from 2018-19 to 2021-22, funds amounting to Rs. 2440.07 crores have been released for these States and more than 39000 Custom Hiring Centres have been established and a total of more than 1.95 lakh crop residue management machines have been supplied to these CHCs and individual farmers of these four States. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is also promoting biomass co-firing for recovery of energy that promotes setting up of biomass pellets and briquettes manufacturing unit.

The afore-said scheme was implemented from 2018-19. The State-wise and year-wise funds allocated under the scheme (Rs. in Crores) are as under:

This information was given by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Rajya Sabha today.