Biomass plant halts operations, triggers stubble management worries

With stubble burning cases likely to surge around Diwali, baler owners in Muktsar district are a worried lot after a biomass plant at Gulabewala village suspended operations, citing a drastic cut in power purchase rates by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

The closure has also alarmed the district administration, which recently held a meeting amid fears of a spike in farm fires.

As paddy harvesting is underway, baler owners fearing huge losses met Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, seeking his intervention.

“The minister assured to take up the issue in the Cabinet meeting on Monday. Farmers and baler owners of 20-25 villages are upset as the plant had been purchasing paddy residue generated over around 50,000 acres, providing vital support in managing farm fires,” said Sukhchain Singh Mann, president of the Gulabewala Baler Union.

The 6 MW plant, commissioned in 2005, had a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the PSPCL, extendable by another 10 years.

“The PPA expired in April 2025. The rate, which had increased from Rs 3.50 to Rs 8.60 per unit with a 5 per cent annual escalation clause, is now being reset to Rs 3.50, making operations unviable,” said an official of the plant.

Muktsar district currently has two other biomass plants – a 14.5 MW unit at Channu village and a 44 MW unit at a paper mill at Rupana village. Another 8 MW plant in neighbouring Fazilka’s Gaddan Dob village is also functional.

According to sources, two of these three plants were running under stay orders on their PPAs. Baler owners fear that if only one unit remains operational, it could create a monopoly and further slash the stubble procurement rates, currently between Rs 160 and Rs 170 per quintal.

Punjab