Vehicular, industrial pollution among main sources of pollution: Govt

Amid declining air quality and rising pollution in the Delhi- NCR region, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Monday highlighted the possible factors responsible for the air pollution.

The pollution in Delhi and NCR is a collective result of multiple factors including high levels of anthropogenic activities in the high-density populated areas which include vehicular pollution, industrial pollution, dust from construction and demolition activities, road and open areas dust, biomass burning, municipal solid waste burning, fires in landfills and air pollution from dispersed sources, a release said

During post-monsoon and winter months, lower temperatures, lower mixing heights, inversion conditions and stagnant winds lead tothe trapping of the pollutants resulting in high pollution in the region. This is further aggravated due to the emissions from episodic events like stubble burning, firecrackers, etc, said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in a press release.

Incidences of paddy stubble burning in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, NCR districts of UP and other areas in NCR are a matter of concern and impact the air quality in the NCR, particularly in the period between October and November, it said.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has developed a standard protocol, in consultation with major stake holders including the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), for recording and monitoring crop residue burning events and paddy burnt area estimation, to avoid a diverse assessment of fire events/counts. As recorded through the standard ISRO protocol, the number of such incidents of paddy stubble burning has witnessed a significant decline on a year-to-year basis as evidenced from the following:

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) from time to time has appropriately communicated and issued directives & advisories to various stakeholders including the 11 Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) located within 300 km of Delhi, State Governments of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on "Ex-Situ Stubble Management" and to establish an ecosystem and robust supply chain mechanism to boost ex-situ utilisation of straw for tackling the problem of stubble burning, it said.

CAQM has also directed coal-based TPPs including co-generating Captive TPPs situated in NCR to (i) initiate immediate steps to co-fire biomass-based pellets (with a focus on paddy straw utilization) with coal through a continuous and uninterrupted supply chain targeting at least 5 per cent co-firing of biomass pellets. (ii) TPPs to strictly comply with the standards of emissions, at all times and with immediate effect, as stipulated vide MoEFCC's Notification S.O. 3305(E), dated 07.12.2015 and its amendments from, time to time.

As per revised model contract for the use of biomass in TPPs, issued by the Ministry of Power, these power plants shall use a minimum of 50 per cent of raw material as stubble/ straw/crop residue of rice paddy sourced from Punjab, Haryana or NCR. Further, emission standards for power plants have been notified and these are to be enforced by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). As per the last co-firing status obtained from MoP till October 2024, out of the targeted 22.64 LMT for FY 2024-25, 11 TPPS within 300 Km of Delhi co-fired 6.04 LMT till October 2024 (~28 per cent), compared to 2.58 LMT (~14 per cent) against targeted 18.03 LMT in FY 2023-24, the release said.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has also launched a scheme to provide financial assistance to Compressed Bio-gas producers for procurement of biomass aggregation equipment for ex-situ management of paddy straw.

Further, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW) in 2018 launched a scheme for providing subsidies for the purchase of crop residue management machinery and establishment of custom hiring centres (CHCs) in the NCT of Delhi and the States of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for in-situ management of paddy straw.

During the period from 2018 to 2024-25 (till 15.11.2024), a total of Rs. 3623.45 crores have been released (Punjab - Rs. 1681.45 crores, Haryana - Rs. 1081.71 crores, Uttar Pradesh - Rs. 763.67 crores, NCT of Delhi - Rs. 6.05 Crores and ICAR-Rs. 83.35 crores).

The states have distributed more than 300,000 machines to the individual farmers and to more than 40,000 CHCs in these 4 States, which also include more than 4,500 Balers & Rakes which are used for collection of straw in the form of bales for further ex-situ utilisation. MoA & FW in 2023 revised guidelines under the scheme to support the establishment of crop residue/paddy straw supply chain, by providing financial assistance on the capital cost of machinery and equipment.

Based on the deliberations and discussions held in a series of meetings with the State Governments of Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Government of NCT of Delhi, State Pollution Control Boards of NCR States and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and various other stakeholders viz. ISRO, ICAR, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), CAQM has provided a Framework to the states concerned for control/elimination of crop residue burning and directed these to draw up detailed state-specific action plans based on the major contours of the framework.