New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that to check pollution caused by stubble burning in the national capital, the Union Territory government will use technology developed by Pusa Agriculture Institute to decompose straw in the fields.
Speaking to media, Kejriwal said that the institute has developed capsules, which when mixed with jaggery and chickpea flour and spread on fields, turn crop stubble into manure within 10-15 days and the process for using it in the national capital will begin in the first week of October.
“Pusa Research Institute has given us a very cheap solution to combat pollution. They have made capsules. A solution made from four capsules, jaggery, and chickpea flour can be sprayed in one hectare of land, and it would decompose the stubble of the previous crop in the field itself,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that this year as the sowing season of the new crop is already around the corner and there is no time for educating farmers about the use of new technology so Delhi government will itself carry out the spraying process under the supervision of Pusa Institute.
“It takes time to make a solution from capsules. The Delhi government has decided that it will start the preparation to make the solution from October 5 under the supervision of Pusa Institute. The solution will be ready by October 12 to October 13. The farmers of Delhi who will allow us to spray the solution on their land, the government will rent tractor itself and do the entire spraying for free,” he stated
He said the entire process will cost just about Rs 20 lakh for Delhi government and further reduce the use of fertilizers as the manure produced from stubble decomposition will enrich soil quality.
“In Delhi, there is 800 hectares of land where non-basmati rice is grown. Delhi Govt will provide this solution to the farmers free of cost. It will cost us less than Rs 20 lakh. As per the institute, this method helps enrich soil quality,” the Chief Minister said.
Kejriwal had on September 24 had informed about an innovative technique — Pusa Decomposer — developed by the scientists at Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), for speedy decomposition of stubble.