The Delhi Government on Tuesday submitted a petition to the ‘Air Quality Management Commission’ (AQMC) and demanded the commission to make uses of bio-decomposer technique mandatory for all the states like Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the technique will stop stubble burning and also help the farmers to develop the quality of farmland from the produced manure. In the petition submitted to the commission, it was also described the successful implementation of the bio-decomposer to stop stubble burning in the national capital. The Government has requested the commission to take cognisance of the assessment report on the usage of the bio- decomposer technique.

Rai said that due to massive stubble burning which affected the air quality of Delhi in the past few days the Covid situation of the capital has also significantly worsened.

"Pollution situation in Delhi has been very critical in the last few days. If we look at the NASA images we will also find out that the stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab have increased significantly. We also know that COVID-19 is a kind of disease which affects the lungs of the people. In the amalgamation of the increasing number of stubble burning cases, pollution and other issues the Covid situation in Delhi is also becoming very critical. We believe that a moral responsibility of not only of the Delhi government but also of the central government and all the other agencies,” he said.

“We believe that it is the time when a permanent solution of the stubble burning should be found out. In Delhi, the state government with the collaboration of Pusa Institute has developed a bio decomposer by which stubble can be converted into manure. We have seen that by using this solution nearly 90 per cent of the stable got converted into manure,” he added.

Rai said, "The Delhi government has filed a petition in front of the central government agency on Sunday to monitor air pollution named as AQMC. We have informed the commission regarding how this solution has been successful in Delhi. We have also submitted the data prepared by Pusa Institute. In Delhi, we have around 2000 acres area where non-Basmati rice is developed and we have sprinkled bio decomposers in this whole area”.

“We have explained the three most important aspects of this initiative to stop stubble burning. Firstly, the central government gives a subsidy to the farmers by which they can buy machines but the farmers are also supposed to pay a major section to buy this machine. This is why the farmers avoid buying these machines and get indulged in stubble burning. If all the states follow the model of the Delhi government then the sprinkling of this and the stubble burning solution can happen in half of the price which the central government spends for this initiative,” he said.

Rai said, "Secondly this technique also helps the farmers to develop manure from the stubble. This manure is very good for farming and improves the quality of the land. Thirdly by this method, the stubble burning practice can be completely done away with. We have urged the commission to take up this solution very seriously and to implement the solution to all the neighbouring states of Delhi where the stubble burning takes place.”