New Delhi: With the onset of the harvesting season in North India, SAEL Industries Ltd. (‘SAEL’), a vertically integrated renewable energy company has begun procurement of ~20 lakh tonnes of paddy straw in a phased manner. This annual fuel feedstock activity will support the company’s 11 Agri waste-to-energy (AgWTE) plants, with a cumulative capacity of 164.9 MW. With this biomass collection drive, SAEL strives to strengthen the local rural supply chain and convert the waste paddy straw (crop residue) into renewable energy. These efforts help us contribute towards both energy transition and pollution mitigation.
AgWTE plants form a sustainable solution as India’s response to crop-residue burning moves from monitoring incidents to building viable alternatives. In 2026, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directed Punjab, Haryana and NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh to implement action plans targeting the complete elimination of paddy-stubble burning.[1] These plans combine field-level monitoring and access to residue-management machinery with greater emphasis on ex-situ utilisation through biomass power, pellets, briquettes and other industrial applications.
The Government of India data indicates that farm-fire incidents have started to decline. The next challenge is to sustain this progress across districts by ensuring that farmers have timely and practical ways to manage crop residue during the short interval before the next crop is sown.
However, sustaining this progress will require more than monitoring and reducing fire incidents, it will require practical alternatives for farmers. A recent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) found that around 90% of surveyed farmers personally disapproved of stubble burning. The persistence of the practice is therefore linked less to awareness than to constraints around machinery, labour, cost, information and timing. With only a 15-18 day window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing, dependable collection and assured offtake become critical to making non-burning options workable for farmers.
SAEL’s model aims to address this gap by connecting farmers with local aggregators and collection teams that can gather and transport paddy straw for use at its energy facilities. This aims to give farmers a route for managing crop residue after harvest, reducing the logistical burden of clearing it within the available window, and create an additional income opportunity. The process also aims to support rural employment extending the value of paddy straw into surrounding communities.
Laxit Awla, CEO and Executive Director, SAEL Industries Limited, said, “India is beginning to move beyond a view of considering paddy straw and other crop residues as seasonal waste-management issue. We are committed to continuing to support the farmer communities to adopt better ways of stubble management and extract the real economic value from it. Our AgWTE plants across Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana are contributing to develop an impact on the economy, generating benefits through creating revenue streams from waste, reduction of fuel costs. Additionally, these projects stimulate local economic growth by creating employment opportunities in waste collection, processing, and plant operation.
