Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that “Pusa bio-decomposer” has been successful in the capital to curb the problem of stubble burning. He also said that the AAP government in Delhi would inform the Supreme Court that it is an effective way to prevent stubble burning.
Pusa bio-decomposer is a solution to stubble burning developed by the scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, which can turn crop residue into manure in just 15 to 20 days and therefore, can prevent stubble burning.
Kejriwal said that neighbouring states, where stubble burning is prevalent, should implement the alternative without any excuses. Since Delhi has found a cheap solution to the problem of crop residue burning and "no state can now make any excuse", he told reporters.
He further told that the 'Pusa bio-decomposer' was sprayed free of cost in non-basmati rice fields in Hiranki village in Narela and was successful. It has completely decomposed the stubble & turned it into manure. Now the farmers can start sowing next crop in the fields.
“We are going to tell the Supreme Court, too, that it is a cheap and effective way to prevent stubble burning,” Kejriwal said.
The CM added that he had earlier talked to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar over the phone about Pusa bio-decomposer and Javadekar said it would be used in other states the next time if the experiment was successful in Delhi.
"Delhi has given a solution to other states. No government can make an excuse that they have no alternative to the problem of stubble burning. We have sprayed the solution across Delhi in just Rs 20 lakh," he said.
Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, "In Delhi, 40 per cent of the pollution happens due to stubble burning in neighbouring states. This year also, the spike in pollution is due to the massive stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana."
On Sunday evening, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution rose to 40%, the maximum so far this season, as per central government agency.
Rai said, "If the Delhi government can implement such a method then the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh could have also done the same. But none of the states took up this initiative, which is why the citizens of Delhi are suffering today".
