A viable use of paddy straw will prevent air pollution
The Supreme Court recently asked the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to plan now and list out steps to prevent paddy straw burning in October.
This is a welcome development. Advance planning can save the national Capital. Otherwise, it will be left gasping for breath again in winter. A clear path will have to be spelt out and strict monitoring can give relief, especially to the elderly, the sick, pregnant women and children.
Economically viable solutions will have to be found and only then will the farmers adopt the measures wholeheartedly. Experts agree that the quantum of paddy that is burnt is about 10 million tonnes. Currently, power is being generated from paddy straw. Eleven such units are operating in Punjab. They are producing 98MW of power. A million tonnes of paddy straw is being consumed in the process. There is potential to scale it up by five times at least so that 5-million tonnes of paddy straw are sold by farmers to power generating units which burn the straw.
A few years ago, it was my responsibility to approve such projects so that the Punjab State Power Supply Company Ltd ( PSPCL) would buy the power produced. The viable price fixed by the Punjab State
Electricity Regulatory Commission ( PSERC) was a little higher than what PSPCL was then willing to pay.
Now, the government of India is providing a subsidy of ₹250 -300 crore annually to Punjab. To make the projects viable, any new unit which is proposed to be set up should be given a viability gap funding (VGF). With the VGF, the price of the power sold to PSPCL by these generating units would come within PSPCL’s range. If sufficient number of units can come up at least 5 million tonnes of stubble can be productively consumed.
Recently a coal-fired thermal plant in Bathinda has been shut down because it was unviable. A large paddy straw plant can be installed as the boiler, electric substation & distribution lines are already available. This plant itself could consume half-a-million tonnes of paddy straw annually.
INCENTIVE TO FARMERS IS THE KEY
The farmer should be made a beneficiary and if he is paid ₹10,00-1,200 per acre, he will gladly sell it to the power generating unit rather than burn it. Punjab has a Contract Farming Act which should be invoked to ensure that the power units square up their accounts with the farmers.
Till the harvest season arrives, agreements under the Contract Farming Act should be entered into by the power units and farmers.
A second viable alternative is to set up bio-CNG generating units. Hindustan Petroleum is setting up a plant in Bathinda which is getting operational soon. There is a potential to set up at least halfa-dozen such biogas plants. These will save the nation’s precious foreign exchange and, at the same time, prevent stubble burning.
While these newer units come up, farmers must be encouraged to use the machinery which has been supplied to them on subsidy. Around 51,000 stubble management machines, happy seeders, cutters, choppers and balers have ben provided. To make this operation viable, the central government should give a bonus of ₹100 per quintal on the MSP.
While the use of paddy straw for generating power and for manufacturing bio-CNG are viable uses of stubble, mulching, fodder, bedding for mulch animals, packing material etc are other domestic use of this by-product of rice.
As and when straw is productively used, Delhi can get reprieve. The new power generation plants and biogas plants will take a few years to come up. In the meantime, farmers’ cooperation can give people relief and cleaner air to breathe.
SOLUTIONS THAT ARE ECONOMICALLY VIABLE WILL HAVE TO BE FOUND AND ONLY THEN WILL FARMERS ADOPT THE MEASURES