Gainful use of Paddy Stubble

Stubble burning is the deliberate setting fire of the straw stubble that remains after wheat and other grains have been harvested.
The period from 15 October to 15 November is when stubble burning instances spike because paddy crops are harvested during this time and the residue left behind needs to be cleared to sow wheat.
Stubble burning is mainly practiced in Punjab and Haryana and it is cited to be one of the major causes for Delhi Air pollution.

The high yield producing crops also produce a lot of straw, this makes it more difficult for the farmers to incorporate the straw into the soil.
So it has become a traditional practice for farmers to burn the Straw in some areas.
It’s estimated that 15 million tonnes of paddy straw are burnt every year in Punjab.

Open burning of Stubble is Incomplete Combustion in Nature & large Amount of the Methane, Carbon monoxide, Volatile Organic Compound are Emitted.
It also produces large amounts of PM 2.5 and PM 10 (tiny toxic dust particles), the most common primary pollutants in the country.
It causes air pollution across the northern states of India particularly in Delhi.

The National Green Tribunal has fixed penalties for Landowners who were involved in the stubble burning.
Punjab Government recently set up a paddy straw challenge fund for the technological solutions on crop residue management.
Punjab Government has provided the Agro-Machines such as mulchers & choppers at Subsidised rates to farmers & co-operatives societies.

In order to prevent burning of crop residue that worsens air pollution, Punjab, the key grain-producing State is promoting paddy straw as a “resource to create wealth” that can be used in mills, distilleries and breweries.

The government recently decided to permit certain categories of industries to install paddy straw fired boilers, for which the industries will be given fiscal incentives.
The industries included in this scheme are sugar mills, pulp and paper mills, besides any industry having boiler installation with steam-generating capacity more than 25 tonnes per hour (TPH).
New and existing units of distilleries and breweries, proposing replacement of old boilers or expansion with installation of new boilers, are required to use paddy straw as fuel in boilers.
To spur the use of straw, the government has decided to provide cumulative fiscal incentives of Rs. 25 crore to the first 50 existing industries on ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Besides, the government has also approved non-fiscal incentives to industries in terms of availability of ‘panchayat’ land for storage of paddy straw with lease agreement of up to 33 years.
Paddy straw can be established as a fuel resource or product before the industry.
Eg: In Punjab, the Industries consume around 3 lakh tonnes of paddy straw as fuel.

Today Current Affairs Upsc Exam Syllabus & Previous Yearpaper.