Punjab to offer subsidy for setting up paddy straw-based boilers: Minister

This step will not only promote the use of paddy residue as a fuel in industries and help paddy straw management but will also supplement income of paddy growers, Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said

The Punjab government will give capital subsidy to industries for setting up paddy straw-based boilers, Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said here on Thursday.

Industries and Commerce minister Sond said the state government has earmarked Rs 60 crore of funds as capital subsidy to support industries for using paddy straw as fuel in their boilers.

This step will not only promote the use of paddy residue as a fuel in industries and help paddy straw management but will also supplement income of paddy growers, he said.

"We have asked industries to use paddy straw in their boilers," said Sond while speaking to reporters here.

This move will also help in reducing industries' reliance on coal being used as fuel to run boilers.

Giving details of the scheme, Sond said the state government will provide a capital subsidy of Rs 1 crore for setting up a new paddy straw-based boiler having a capacity of 8 tonnes and Rs 2 crore of subsidy for 16-tonnes of boiler.

He further said a subsidy of Rs 50 lakh will be given for converting existing boilers into paddy stubble-based boilers for 8-tonnes capacity and Rs 1 crore for 16-tonnes capacity boilers.

The minister said the government has also allowed the industries to use 20 per cent biofuel along with 80 per cent of paddy straw as a fuel in boilers.

Replying to a question, Sond said with the introduction of the capital subsidy scheme, industries will be encouraged to source paddy straw from fields to use it as a fuel in their units.

Notably, the Punjab government in its Budget in March had committed Rs 60 crore in capital subsidies to support industries transitioning to paddy stubble-based boilers.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for the rise in air pollution in Delhi after harvesting of the paddy crop in October and November.