Karnal district farmers to provide 1 LMT of paddy straw to IOCL

Parveen Arora

Karnal, October 31

Farmers of Karnal district will provide 1 lakh MT of stubble bundles to the IOCL’s second-generation (2G) ethanol plant in Panipat, for which the IOCL has established five collection yards, where crop residue is kept after processing and later shifted to the plant. The residue is then converted into ethanol.

Earning Rs 1,890/MT

• Of 1 lakh MT stubble target, the authorities claimed that the farmers of the district had already provided 60,000 MT stubble bundles so far
• The IOCL pays Rs 1,890 per MT to each Custom Hiring Centre, or person with machines to manage stubble in the state
• It has set up collection yards at Bhamberehri, Jamalpur, Agondh, Amupur, and Bandrala villages

The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department is assisting the IOCL in encouraging the farmers to sell stubble to earn a profit. The IOCL pays Rs 1,890 per MT to each Custom Hiring Centre (CHC), or person with machines to manage stubble.

The authorities claimed that the farmers of the district had provided 60,000 MT stubble bundles so far. “We have been given a target to provide 1 lakh MT stubble to the IOCL this season. We have given 60,000 MT so far and the remaining 40,000 MT will be provided by November 15,” said Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA).

Five centres have been set up at Bhamberehri, Jamalpur, Agondh, Amupur, and Bandrala villages. The IOCL transfers the amount to the accounts of farmers, the DDA added. As per data of the department, paddy is cultivated on around 4.25 lakh acres. Around 8 lakh MT of residue is generated in a season, of which around 3 lakh MT is generated from basmati paddy and 5 lakh MT from parmal varieties.

Around 3 lakh MT of basmati paddy residue is used as fodder, while 1 MT lakh is being provided to the IOCL, and 1 lakh MT to different industrial units.

As per department sources, from the remaining 3 lakh MT of stubble, around 1.5 lakh MT is managed by the farmers with in-situ or ex-situ methods, and the remaining is still a challenge. “We educate farmers to earn profit by selling the residue, for which in-situ and ex-situ machines are being provided at subsidised rates,” said the DDA.

“Joint teams of different departments are monitoring stubble-burning cases. So far, we have imposed a fine of Rs 1.3 lakh on farmers who set the residue on fire,” he added.