New Delhi: Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday visited the Hiranki village in Narela district in Delhi, to kickstart the process of the spraying of the newly-developed bio-decomposer solution on the 700-800 hectares of paddy fields in Delhi. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that the solution has been developed under the guidance of Pusa Institute and all the arrangements for the spraying of the solution have been made by the Delhi government, the farmers will not have to bear the cost of using this technology. He also said that all the governments have to work in tandem to address the issue of stubble burning in Northern India. Delhi Environment Minister Shri Gopal Rai was also present at the launch of the process.
Addressing the media, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “To get rid of the issue of stubble burning, the process of the production of this liquid solution was started in Delhi around 10 days back. Stubble is often found in the 700-800 hectares of paddy (non-basmati) fields in Delhi, which has to be burned. The Delhi government has created the solution which will be sprayed on the fields, which will convert stubble into manure. The tractors as well as all the arrangements for its spraying have been made by the Delhi government, and the farmers do not have to bear the cost of it. The solution will be sprayed on the entire 700-800 hectares of land in Delhi in the next few days. The stubble will convert into manure and the land will be ready for sowing in the next 20-25 days. The Pusa Institute has been conducting various trials and researches on this for the last 4-5 years and has been initiating pilot projects in the past, I hope that the farmers will benefit from it.”
“The burning of the stubble also destroys the useful bacteria on the farmlands. Due to the spraying of the solution, the farmers would need fewer fertilizers and it will also increase the productivity of the land. I am worried because stubble burning has started in the neighboring states, and the smoke has started reaching Delhi. The pollution was in control in Delhi for the last 10 months. I am concerned about the people of Delhi, people of Punjab and people of Haryana. In a village where the farmers are forced to burn their stubble, we cannot imagine the pollution that the stubble burning can cause in those areas. The farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and the citizens of Delhi are in trouble and no government is taking concrete steps to address the issue. I hope that the government will take measures to address the issue of stubble burning so that the country can be pollution-free,” he added.
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that every government has to work together seriously to address the issue. The whole of Northern India is covered in smoke in the months of October, November, and December for the last so many years, but why suitable steps were not taken? “We do not have to blame each other, every government has to work with one another to resolve the issue. If the Delhi government can do it, so can other state governments. When the process was in its initial phase, I made attempts to contact the Central government and if they wanted, they could have worked with us to address the issue. We got to know about the technology developed by the Pusa Institute in September, and so did they. We have to work together with sincerity to address the issue,” added the Chief Minister.
Shri Gopal Rai said, “Hon’ble CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal has initiated the process of spraying of the solution in the farmlands in Delhi. It is not only about the Centre, all the governments need to come together to seriously address the issue. We want the support of every government in preventing stubble burning and pollution.”
