In an effort to tackle the problem of stubble burning, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Thursday announced that a one-time financial assistance will be given to individuals and companies to set up pelletisation and torrefaction plants to ensure a regular supply of paddy straw for co-firing in thermal power plants and industries.

The setting up of these plants will help resolve the problem of stubble burning and generate income for farmers, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said at a workshop on “Guidelines for grant of one-time financial support for establishment of pelletisation and torrefaction plants to promote utilisation of paddy straw”.

The Minister urged the farmers to avoid stubble burning and promote its utilisation being a valuable resource. Yadav also urged agricultural entrepreneurs or agripreneurs to apply for availing grants under the guidelines. He said that it has a potential to create employment among the rural youth.

Along with unfavourable meteorological conditions, paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is a major reason behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November. Farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato.

According to government data, Punjab and Haryana generate around 27 million tonnes of paddy straw a year, of which around 6.4 million tonnes is not managed.

To address the issue of air pollution and to reduce the carbon footprint of thermal power plants and industries, the government had earlier mandated co-firing of 5 to 10 per cent of biomass along with coal.

Though there is a demand for biomass by power plants, “the supply is on the lower side … due to slow/limited growth of aggregators/suppliers”, the government noted.

“Therefore, there is a need to facilitate setting up of pelletisation plants so that paddy straw is utilised and the issue of crop burning, and pollution is further addressed,” read the guidelines prepared by the Union Environment Ministry.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday held discussions with environment ministers of Delhi, Punjab and NCR states on curbing stubble burning and vehicular, industrial and dust pollution, ahead of winters when the national capital and its surrounding areas see a steep fall in air quality.