He said all the arrangements for spraying the solution on the farm fields will be made by the Delhi government and will be provided free of cost to the farmers.

 

He said the process will be executed under the guidance of the Pusa Research Institute and the cost of the implementation of the entire project is less than Rs 20 lakh.

 

Addressing a digital press briefing, Kejriwal said, "The month of October is starting tomorrow, and we know that around this time, the entire north India is troubled with the smoke that covers the belt due to the crop stubble burning every year. Whereas Delhi and other cities have to suffer from the smoke, the farmers who are forced to burn the stubble and their villages are the ones who have to suffer the most."

 

In a seeming reference to the Punjab government, he advised that every responsible government must devise "alternate systems" for their farmers so that the farmers are not forced to burn stubble.

 

Calling Pusa's alternate solution as "cheap", he said that four capsules can be mixed with a liquid solution prepared by jaggery and gram flour and can be sprayed to cover one hectare of land.

 

"The mixture when sprayed softens the hard straw and turns it into manure. This is a cheap alternative," he said. Kejriwal said that his government has decided to prepare this mixture itself under the guidance of the Pusa Research Institute.

 

"We have made all arrangements for the same, and this process will begin on October 5. There are around 800 hectares of land in Delhi where the non-Basmati rice is grown, following which the stubble is collected and burned. The Delhi government will be starting the process of preparing this liquid solution by October 5 which will hopefully be completed by October 12-13, after which the Delhi government will visit the farmers with the solution to be sprayed on their farmlands," he said during a virtual media interaction.

 

The scientists have said that once this stubble converts into manure, it will improve the fertility and productivity of the land and decrease the usage of fertilisers. Burning the stubble also used to kill the useful bacteria in the soil.

 

The entire cost of the implementation of this project in Delhi is less than Rs 20 lakh. He urged other states to emulate Delhi.