Anand Mahindra shares a 'profitable' fix to disposing of stubble

Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra on Wednesday shared a sustainable solution to stubble burning that is major contributor to air pollution in Delhi-NCR and surrounding regions. He retweeted a post by Naandi Foundation CEO Maj Kumar where Kumar apprised of his foundation's recent purchase of nearly 800 metric tons of paddy residue from farmers of Palla vill in Delhi to prevent m from burning it. Mahindra expressed his hope for solutions to Delhi's pollution problem and suggested re exists a profitable way for farmers to dispose of paddy residue.

READ | Centre's Steps To Tackle Stubble Burning Yield 12% Reduction

READ | Delhi Air Quality Improves To 'poor' Category; Schools Reopen

Under Foundation's urban farm initiative, firm aims to bring organic farm products grown around Indian cities to consumers. purchased stubble, according to Kumar, would be used as manure after being composted. Anand Mahindra must have also been pleased to see his company's 505 DI tractor being used for initiative. Earlier, Maj Kumar had thanked Mahindra Group's Chief Marketing Officer Vivek Nayer on Twitter for contribution of automobile maker's in initiative. "MahindraRise has been bedrock of my audacity to work with communities to fight poverty by creating a new blueprint for agriculture in India (sic)," Kumar had said on micro-blogging site.

READ | Kejriwal's Twist: 'Can Convert Stubble To CNG, Will Also Create Jobs'

A solution to paddy residue burning

According to agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, often referred to as ‘far of India’s Green Revolution’, paddy residue frequently burned by farmers in rth India can be processed into making valuable items like cardboard and animal feed. "In South India, stubble is t burnt as re's ecomic value as animal feed. For years I pointed out many ecomic uses of rice straw. We should adopt a do-ecology approach with farmers to convert rice stubble into income rar than making m nts of eco-disaster (sic)," Swaminathan had previously said in a tweet. He had suggested that a 'rice bio park' be set up by government where stubble can be utilised as a raw material to make products including paper, cardboard and animal feed. "I suggest that Delhi, Haryana and UP govts put up Rice BioParks where farmers can convert stubble into income and employment. We should stop blaming farmers since it will take us where. Instead, we should propose methods which are ecomically & ecologically desirable (sic)," he had said in ar tweet.

READ | Stubble Burning: 22 Farmers Arrested For Burning Paddy Straw In Punjab