Stubble burning: Government to provide financial assistance to set up pelletisation and torrefaction plants

New Delhi: To tackle the stubble burning, the Central government has released CPCB guidelines for grant of one-time financial support for promoting establishment of paddy straw based pelletisation and torrefaction plants.

According to official statement, under the guidelines, a maximum grant of Rs. 14 lakh per Ton/hr for non-torrefied pellet plant and Rs. 28 lakh per Ton/hr for a torrefied pellet plant is being provided under the guidelines.

The total outlay would be an overall cap of Rs. 70 lakhs for the former and Rs. 1.4 crore for the latter. “A corpus of Rs. 50 crores has been earmarked for utilisation through the guidelines” said the ministry.

Speaking at the event Bhupender Yadav said that the Government has taken various steps to tackle the issue of stubble burning and a large quantity of paddy straw is now being managed through in-situ and ex-situ management options.

Union Minister expressed that Paddy straw burning in Northern regions of India has emerged as one of the major causes of air pollution during winters, especially in Delhi-NCR.

“Under CPCB guidelines, individuals/entrepreneurs/ companies, interested in setting up pelletisation and torrefaction plants, using only paddy straw generated in the NCT of Delhi, States of Punjab & Haryana, and NCR districts of Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh can submit an application for obtaining a one-time grant on capital investment” he added.

The guidelines give preference to units proposing to install equipment that is made in India.

Preference is also given to those units which have agreement with farmers located in NCT of Delhi, States of Punjab and Haryana and NCR districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, to ensure assured supply of paddy straw.

These plants, once set up, would utilise a sizeable portion of the unmanaged paddy straw and help address the issue of crop residue burning and the resultant air pollution.

This year as many as 700 incidents of stubble burning reported in Punjab, so far as compared to over 2,500 incidents during the same time in previous years.

The Ministry has also granted 190 Environment Clearances (EC) so far for Grain based Ethanol production projects aggregating 34368 KLPD and all these projects have been granted EC in a record time of around 45-50 days, the Minister said.

The Minister said that the first 2G Ethanol Plant in Panipat, which the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation two months ago, is expected to utilize ~2 lakh metric tonnes of paddy straw every year.