Chief Secretary issues directions regarding reducing stubble burning incidents in Haryana

Chandigarh, March 11, 2022: Haryana Chief Secretary, Sanjeev Kaushal has directed the officers concerned to prepare an advance action plan for crop residue management ahead of the upcoming season.

He also directed the officers concerned to explore the possibilities of new technologies and projects in addition to the existing technologies for ex-situ management.

The Chief Secretary gave these directions while presiding over the meeting regarding ex-situ management for the upcoming season here today.

He said that there has been a significant reduction in the incidents of stubble burning last year and this year also advance action plan should be prepared to decrease the stubble burning incidents.

For this, committees should also be constituted at the village level so that the incidents of stubble burning at the ground level can also be closely monitored and farmers can also be made aware of the ill-effects of stubble burning so that they don’t burn paddy stubble, directed Sanjeev Kaushal.

The Chief Secretary said that in-situ management is being done on a large scale in Haryana and with this, more emphasis is needed on ex-situ management. For this, apart from the existing technologies, possibilities of the use of new technologies and starting new projects should also be explored.

Sanjeev Kaushal directed that the costing study of cooperative sugar mills should be conducted to make Biomass Energy Plant, Ethanol Plant and Compressed Biogas Plant more viable. Besides this, their number should also be increased in the State to promote maximum consumption of stubble in the State.

In the meeting, Director General, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Hardeep Singh informed that the department is providing subsidies to the farmers for various equipments like straw slashers, shredders, hey-rake and straw balers for ex-situ management so that the farming system can be improved.

He further informed that during the year 2021, 449 straw balers have been provided to the farmers on subsidy for ex-situ management. For this year, 26 industrial units have registered a requirement of 4.25 lakh metric tonnes of stubble.

It was informed in the meeting that biomass projects have been set up in the state for the consumption of stubble and at present 11 projects are going on, in which 4.48 lakh metric tonnes of stubble is being used and 6.43 lakh metric tonnes have been used in the year 2022-23.

Besides this, work on two more biomass power projects and one ethanol plant will also be completed by July 2022. After the completion of these plants, additional use of 4.26 lakh metric tonnes of stubble will be used.

Additional Chief Secretary, Environment and Climate Change Department, A K Singh, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Vijayendra Kumar, Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, P. Raghavendra Rao and other officers were present in the meeting.