This article is authored by Ramnath Vaidyanathan, AVP and head of environmental sustainability, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies.
Punjab has been in the news of late for, among other things, the issue of stubble burning after harvesting. A combination of a third harvesting cycle coinciding with a thick winter fog has led to one of the biggest environmental and health challenges in India today. The issue has become political too. Not only has it been one of the critical points of discussion in Parliament, but the Punjab chief secretary has now raised stakes by ambitiously announcing that the state will reduce the stubble burning instances by 50% in comparison to 2022.
Stubble burning
Stubble burning
The government is also imposing penalties and regulations which unfortunately are difficult to implement and have a negligible impact. However, a spate of recent projects collecting and converting agri residue to biomass to be used as fuel, has shown immense potential t not just solve the problem of crop burning but to create a brand new ecosystem and a parallel economy of waste to wealth.
After the kharif harvest of rice, farmers in the northern belt burn the residue left behind to reduce the turnaround time for the preparation of the upcoming rabi sowing season of wheat. Approximately 5,00,000 kg of stubble is generated each year in India. A one-kilo bale of paddy straw is sold on average for only ₹8. The economics of baling and selling is so low that it’s cheaper to burn a quarter of the stubble immediately after harvest. This is problematic on many levels. Apart from the obvious and immediate impact on soil fertility, stubble burning also releases harmful, toxic gases and particulates into the air, causing air pollution and poor air quality in the neighbouring region. Most important, if not most obviously, burning stubble is a loss of the immense potential it has as a biomass fuel.
