Over Rs 15.8 Cr spent on advertisements about Pusa bio-decomposer: Delhi govt to Assembly

PTI, Jul 31, 2021, 6:06 PM IST

New Delhi: The Delhi government has spent over Rs 15.8 crore on advertisements about the Pusa bio-decomposer and Rs 40,000 on the chemical that converts paddy straw (stubble) into manure to combat air pollution, the Assembly was informed earlier this week.

It has also spent Rs 4,69,000 on training and awareness programmes against stubble burning among farmers, the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) of the city government said in a written reply to BJP MLA OP Sharma”s question during the Monsoon Session of the Assembly on Thursday.

The session concluded on Friday.

In the last winter season, the Delhi government ensured the sprinkling of the Pusa bio-decomposer in the fields of the villages in the national capital free of cost to prevent farmers from burning stubble.

Stubble burning in north India is considered to be a prime reason behind the dreaded winter smog in Delhi and its surrounding areas.

“It was necessary that information about this technique (bio-decomposer) reached farmers in all those states from where a large quantity of smoke is emitted. Because the states neighbouring Delhi are the main source of this smoke.

“Therefore, for the safety of people, the Delhi government issued advertisements to create awareness about this new technique by spending Rs 15,80,36,828,” the DIP stated in the reply.

An amount of Rs 40,000 was spent on the purchase of the chemical to convert stubble into compost. The Agriculture Branch of Development held 56 training programmes with an expenditure of Rs 4,69,000 to raise awareness among farmers against stubble burning, it said.

Officials of the Pusa Institute and the government trained around 1,400-1,500 farmers in converting stubble into compost at a special camp, the DIP said.

Stubble burning and the consequent alarming levels of air pollution are a recurring feature during winter for years in north India, including Delhi.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said bio-decomposer is a successful technique to tackle stubble burning and requested the Centre and neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to adopt it.