On Tuesday, Kirti Vardhan Singh, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change revealed in the Lok Sabha that the Centre has allocated Rs 3,623.45 crore for crop residue management in key states like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Punjab received the largest share, with Rs 1,681.45 crore, followed by Haryana at Rs 1,081.71 crore.
Additionally, Uttar Pradesh received Rs 763.67 crore, the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi received Rs 6.05 crore, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) got Rs 83.35 crore.
The funds have been used to promote sustainable farming, including providing crop residue management machinery and setting up custom hiring centres (CHCs) to reduce stubble burning.
According to Singh, over three lakh machines, including 4,500 balers and rakes, have been provided to assist in collecting paddy straw for further processing.
Additionally, the government has committed financial support for pelletisation and torrefaction plants to help manage crop residues.
Pelletisation plants can receive up to Rs 1.4 crore in funding, while torrefaction plants can get up to Rs 2.8 crore, based on their capacity.
So far, officials approved 17 applications for such plants, and 15 plants are likely to process 2.70 lakh tonnes of paddy straw annually.
The crop residue management program, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare in 2018, was likely to assist with the purchase of machinery and establish CHCs for managing paddy straw in-situ, aiming to prevent stubble burning.
In 2023, the government revised the scheme to offer more support for establishing a complete crop residue supply chain, including additional financial aid for machinery and equipment.
Govt Partners With ISRO, ICAR, IARI For Nationwide Crop Residue Burning Plan
The government has also partnered with state authorities and research organizations like ISRO, ICAR, and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) to implement a nationwide action plan to tackle the issue of crop residue burning.
As part of its strategy to manage residues in the fields, the government has provided essential crop residue management machinery and promoted high-yield, short-duration paddy varieties to replace traditional ones like PUSA-44.
Using Super Straw Management Systems (SMS) with combine harvesters, which chop and spread straw evenly, is now mandatory to stop burning. The government has also promoted the use of bio-decomposers developed by IARI to naturally turn paddy straw into useful organic fertilizer.
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