New Crop Residue Management Guidelines Announced for Paddy Straw in Punjab, Haryana, UP, and Delhi

The government of India has taken a major step to tackle the problem of stubble burning by revising the Crop residue management guidelines. The new guidelines are designed to facilitate the effective ex-situation management of the paddy straw produced in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Under the revised guidelines, techno-commercial pilot projects for the Paddy Straw Supply Chain will be established through bilateral agreements between the beneficiaries/aggregators, such as farmers, rural entrepreneurs, cooperative societies of farmers, farmers' producer organizations (FPOs), and panchayats, and the industries that utilize paddy straw.

To support these initiatives, the government will provide financial assistance for the capital cost of machinery and equipment. The working capital required for these projects can be financed jointly by the industry and the beneficiaries or through the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), NABARD Financial, or financing from financial institutions by the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries will be responsible for arranging and preparing the land for the storage of the collected paddy straw, following the guidance provided by the end-use industry.

The financial assistance will be extended for the procurement of various machines and equipment, including higher horsepower tractors, cutters, tedders, medium to large balers, rakers, loaders, grabbers, and telehandlers, which are essential for establishing a robust paddy straw supply chain.

The projects will require approval from the respective state governments through a project sanctioning committee. The government, jointly with the central and state governments, will provide financial support of approximately 65% of the project cost, while the industry will contribute 25% as the primary promoter and primary consumer of the collected feedstock. The remaining 10% will be contributed by farmers, groups of farmers, rural entrepreneurs, cooperative societies of farmers, farmers' producer organizations (FPOs), or panchayats.

The interventions are expected to yield several positive outcomes:

• Supplementing in-situ options: The initiative will complement the ongoing efforts for paddy straw management through in-situ methods.

• Reduction in stubble burning: It is estimated that during the three-year duration of the interventions, approximately 1.5 million metric tonnes of surplus paddy straw will be collected, which would have otherwise been burnt in the fields.

• Creation of biomass collection depots: Around 333 biomass collection depots with a capacity of 4,500 metric tonnes will be established in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.

• Reduced air pollution: The project will significantly contribute to reducing air pollution caused by stubble burning, leading to cleaner and healthier environments.

• Job creation: The interventions are expected to generate employment opportunities for approximately 900,000 man-days.

• Encouraging a robust supply chain: The establishment of a paddy straw supply chain will facilitate its availability for various end-uses such as power generation, heat generation, bio-CNG, etc., by power/bio-CNG/bio-ethanol producers.

• Stimulating investments: The development of a supply chain will attract new investments in the biomass-to-biofuel and energy sectors.

Such initiative not only offers an environmentally friendly solution to crop residue management but also promotes sustainable practices and contributes to the country's energy and agricultural sectors.