Punjab mulls policy to address paddy straw burning issue

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the state government will soon evolve an economically viable and farmer-friendly policy to address the problem of paddy straw burning in the state.
He stated this while inaugurating a two-day Stakeholders' Consultative Conference on Policy for Utilisation and Management of paddy straw in the state here.
Badal said the state has an abundant stock of biomass, especially of paddy straw, which can be optimally used for producing power in the state.
It will not only protect environment from pollution hazards but will also ensure remunerative returns to farmers on paddy straw by ensuring its optimum utilisation for power generation as a renewable source of non-conventional energy, he added.

"A farmer friendly-policy should be formulated for an effective management and disposal of paddy waste in a productive manner to benefit farmers who are now left with no other option but to burn the paddy straw recklessly, which not only poses a major health hazard due to environment pollution but also results in the loss of soil fertility," Badal said.
Stating that the paddy straw burning issue is a national problem, the Chief Minister said he would soon take up the matter with the Prime Minister and the Union Ministers of New & Renewable Energy and Environment & Forests to bail out the state by sanctioning a project to deal with this problem.

He categorically said that the state alone could not cope up with this problem, adding that the Union government should come forward to the rescue of Punjab government so that this problem could be tackled on top priority in an efficacious and result-oriented manner.
Likewise, he also desired that he would soon take up the issue of enhancing quantity of blending ethanol produced from biomass in petrol from existing content of 5 per cent to at least 10 per cent.
The Chief Minister said the state government could not merely resort to punitive and legal options while tackling the situation arising out of paddy straw burning, rather it would have to come out with concrete and sustainable solution keeping in view the interests of all stakeholders.