Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that if all the governments work hard and make honest efforts together, then the pollution caused due to stubble can be substantially reduced in a short period.

Kejriwal said that if all the state governments have the political will, the issue can be resolved within a short span of time. He also listed steps being taken by different state governments to stop farmers from burning stubble. He said that on the recommendation of Pusa Institute, the Delhi government started spraying chemicals which will convert this stubble into manure.

Kejriwal also said that there are many factories in Haryana and Punjab which are converting stubble to compressed bio-gas (CBG), coal and coke. He said that we must not consider stubble as a liability but the need to transform it into an opportunity. If all state governments adopt these conversion measures, it will benefit the farmers monetarily and generate employment.

CM Kejriwal suggested that the Centre (environment ministry) should hold a monthly meeting with the Chief Ministers of the states which are affected by burning stubble to find out more such solutions.

Arvind Kejriwal said, “First let me talk about the issue of stubble burning and now the Supreme Court of India has also accepted that stubble burning is the major cause behind this air pollution.

“Earlier, some politics was happening regarding the issue of stubble burning but now the Supreme Court has observed that the key reason behind the spike in air pollution during this time of the year is the stubble burning. The air pollution due to stubble burning is not restricted to Delhi but it affects entire North India.

“I am more worried about the farmers who burn the stubble because the toxic air generated from the burning affects their family. I think that the solution of stubble burning is already there because the scientists have come up with various solutions. But I feel that there is a lack of political goodwill to embrace these technologies to stop the stubble burning.”

“Till now the Central government is only convening meetings with the environment ministers of the states of north India. I want to request the Union Environment Minister to call a meeting of the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi every month because this is a big issue and it can’t be managed only at the level of the environment ministers of these states.

“We all should meet with an open mind and discuss the problem to find out the solutions. We should not get indulge in any kind of blame game. There can be different suggestions of solutions with the chief ministers of these states, therefore, we should discuss with an open mind,” he added.