Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met scientists from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), who presented an innovative decomposer technique to deal with the issue of stubble burning in the Capital.
The Pusa Decomposer technology involves mixing formulated capsules in water and spraying it on straw to speed up decomposition of stubble. The cost of capsules is ₹20 per acre and can effectively deal with 4-5 tonnes of raw straw per acre.
Mr. Kejriwal said that stubble burning is a major source of winter pollution in Delhi and congratulated the IARI scientists for developing a low-cost, effective technology to deal with crop stubble.
Mr. Kejriwal will visit the IARI Pusa campus on Thursday for a live demonstration of the technique.
He further directed officials from the Development Department to carry out a detailed cost-benefit analysis and explore the possibility of using the technique across all farms in outer Delhi.
IARI research in Punjab and Haryana farms over the past four year has shown that the technique not only reduces the need for stubble burning but also cuts down fertiliser consumption and increases farm productivity, the government said.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had recently said the government would bear the cost of spraying the mixture in the fields so that there is no financial burden on farmers in the city.
