Stubble burning: Pusa bio-decomposer successful; will tell SC, says Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said "Pusa bio-decomposer" was successful in Delhi and the city government will inform the Supreme Court that it is an effective way to prevent stubble burning.
Delhi has found a cheap solution to the problem of crop residue burning and "no state can now make any excuse", he told reporters in Hiranki village in north Delhi.

Pusa bio-decomposer is a solution developed by the scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, which can turn crop residue into manure in 15 to 20 days and therefore, can prevent stubble burning.


The 'Pusa bio-decomposer' was sprayed free of cost in non-basmati rice fields in Hiranki village in Narela.

Pusa bio-decomposer has been successful. It has completely decomposed the stubble and turned it into manure. Farmers can now start sowing next crop in the fields, he said.

The chief minister said that neighbouring states, where stubble burning is prevalent, should implement the alternative without any excuses.

"We are going to tell the Supreme Court, too, that it is a cheap and effective way to prevent stubble burning," he said.

"Delhi has given a solution to other states. No government can make an excuse that they have no alternative to the problem of stubble burning. We have sprayed the solution across Delhi in just Rs 20 lakh," he said.

Kejriwal said he had earlier talked to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar over phone about Pusa bio-decomposer.

"He (Javadekar) said it will be used in other states the next time if the experiment was successful in Delhi," the chief minister said.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai said, "In Delhi, 40 per cent of the pollution happens due to stubble burning in neighbouring states. This year also, the spike in pollution is due to the massive stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana."

On Sunday, the share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution rose to 40 per cent, the maximum so far this season, according to a central government agency.

Rai said he was hopeful that the new commission set up by the central government will take up the issue of stubble burning on a priority basis and try to solve the matter.

"If the Delhi government can implement such a method then the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh could have also done the same. But none of the states took up this initiative, which is why the citizens of Delhi are suffering today," he said.