New Delhi, Sep 11 (Agency) As part of its winter action plan, this year the Delhi Government will spray bio-decomposer free of cost on more than 5,000 acres of farmland to decompose the stubble, AAP leader and Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday. “Currently, farmers are being asked to fill out a form. If needed, the spraying will be extended to more fields. The Pusa Institute is providing the bio-decomposer to the Delhi government,” the Minister said. Following a high-level meeting with officials and experts, Rai announced that so far 841 farmers have already signed up for the initiative aimed at curbing pollution and promoting sustainable farming practices in both Basmati and non-Basmati paddy fields within the capital.
“The Agriculture Department has been instructed to get the form filled by the farmers soon regarding the spraying of bio-decomposer. This form includes the details of the farmer, how many acres of land he wants to spray and the time of harvesting of the crop. The farmers will also enter the date of spraying in the form, so that arrangements for spraying can be made in their fields accordingly,” he said. “So far 841 farmers have filled out the form. Along with this, awareness campaigns are also being run by the team regarding the spraying of bio-decomposer among the farmers inside Delhi.
Spraying of bio-decomposer will start from the last week of September. For this, necessary instructions have been given to all the concerned departments,” the Minister added. Rai further emphasised “All the departments have been assigned different responsibilities on 21 focus points regarding the Winter Action Plan, under which the Environment Department will prepare a joint action plan for it.” “Stubble burning, included in this year’s 21 focus points, also plays an important role in increasing the problem of pollution in the winter season,” he added. “Paddy is cultivated only in some parts of Delhi. To prevent pollution from stubble in Delhi, the government sprayed bio-decomposer free of cost last year and its results have been very positive. With its spraying, the stubble decomposed in the fields and an increase in the fertility of the fields was also seen,” the Minister said.