new delhi indraprastha gas ltd igl the sole supplier of cleanburning natural gas as automotive and kitchen fuel in the ncr national capital region has stepped in to help stop crop stubble burning identified as a major cause of air pollution in the city and its suburbsthe company on monday joined hands with mahindra waste to energy solutions ltd mwesl a subsidiary of automaker mahindra mahindra for designing and developing plants for producing gas from crop stubble and organic waste providing cultivators a remunerative alternative to burning farm wasteigl is the second company to join efforts at stopping stubble burning staterun generation utility ntpc earlier this month started the process of procuring farm stubble pellets to fuel its dadri power plant with the aim of giving farmers a profitable alternative to burning crop residue and opening up a new market for rural entrepreneurshipthe mou signed by igl and mwesl envisages setting up such plants in delhi and other cities such as noida greater noida ghaziabad and rewari gurugram and karnal where igl supplies cng and png the plants in gurugram and karnal are set to start operations shortlythe project aims at converting paddywheat straw into gas which can be used to run generators for lighting up villages or boost igls supplies for meeting its expanding consumer base the leftovers will be used as organic fertiliser to improve soil qualityigl has been proactive in leveraging latest technology in all its operations for community benefit environmental pollution is the biggest concern in the region today and it is our endeavour to reduce alarming levels of pollution apart from creating opportunities for additional income for farmers igl md es ranganathan saidhemant sikka of mahindra waste to energy solutions said the project would pave the way for creating energyindependent villages and a pollutionfree environment this will also enable villagers to create their own self sustained villages in terms of energy requirement and rural employmentthe company is seeking supply of 1000 tonnes per day of the farm residuebased fuel in the form of pellets or torrefied briquettes 500 tonnes each a day and offered a twoyear contract the price for pellets has been capped at rs 5500 per tonne and rs 6600 a tonne for torrified briquettes on an average one acre of cropping yields about two tonnes of stubble or straw