Lok Sabha Question No. 213 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Promotion of City Compost
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Vinod Kumar Sonkar, Raja Amareshwara Naik, Bhola Singh

## MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS

## LOK    SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 213 TO BE ANSWERED ON:

## Promotion of   City Compost

## 213.    SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR: SHRI RAJA AMARESHWARA NAIK: SHRI BHOLA SINGH:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has established a policy on the promotion of City Compost in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the aims and objectives of such policy;
- (c) whether the said policy has been able to achieve the objective for which it was established;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the  quantum of  solid  waste  from  towns  and  cities  which  was  decomposed during the last three years, year-wise; and
- (f) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  incentivize farmers on buying compost or organic fertilizers from manufacturing companies in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS (SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA)

(a)  to  (d):    The  Government  had  approved  the  policy  on  the  promotion  of  city compost which was formulated by the Department of Fertilizers on 10 th February 2016,  under  which  financial  assistance  in  the  form  of  Market  Development Assistance @ ₹1,500/- per metric ton was provided for scaling up production and consumption  of  city  compost.  Initially,  existing  fertilizer  marketing  companies, having  good  marketing  network,  were  allowed  for  marketing  of  city  compost. Subsequently, in order to increase volume of sales and to make compost available at  affordable  prices  to  farmers,  compost  manufacturing  companies  producing compost were allowed for bulk sale of city compost directly to farmers.

The aims and objectives of the policy on promotion of city compost, inter-alia, was  to  promote  city  compost  made  from  city  waste,  processing  of  waste  by converting  into  useful  by-product  and  complement  the  objectives  of  'SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN' campaign of Government.  However, the scheme of Market Development Assistance (MDA) on city compost has been discontinued after 30 th September,  2021  based  on  the  review  of  the  policy  and  recommendations  of Expenditure  Finance  Committee  (EFC)  made  in  its  meeting  held  on  2 nd August, 2021.

02.02.2024

The  details  of  sales  of  city  compost  by  fertilizer  marketing  companies/ compost manufacturers and disbursement of MDA since 2016-17 to 2021-22 under the policy on promotion of city compost are as under:

| Years   |   Sales by marketing companies (in MT) | Bulk sales by manufacturing companies (in MT)   |   Total sales (in MT) |   MDAreleased (Rupees in crore) |
|---------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|---------------------------------|
| 2016-17 |                                  96584 | -                                               |                 96584 |                            0.55 |
| 2017-18 |                                 123570 | 75492.04                                        |                199062 |                            7.26 |
| 2018-19 |                                 195551 | 111078.99                                       |                306630 |                           10    |
| 2019-20 |                                 215726 | 111046.84                                       |                326773 |                           33.85 |
| 2020-21 |                                 259196 | 96738.679                                       |                355935 |                           68.74 |
| 2021-22 |                                 170636 | 85171.88                                        |                255808 |                           42    |

(e):       Data on the quantum of municipal solid waste (MSW) being decomposed is not maintained.  The  principal  objective  of  Swachh  Bharat  Mission-Urban  (SBM-U)  is  to achieve  100%  scientific  processing  of  the  MSW  through  all  possible  means,  i.e., composting,  incineration,  bio-methanation,  recycling,  etc.  and  hence  data  on  total MSW processing is maintained, irrespective of the method of processing.

(f)  :        There  existed  no  scheme  to  provide  Market  Development  Assistance  (MDA) directly to farmers.  As per the policy on promotion of city compost formulated by the Department  of  Fertilizers  on  10.02.2016,  MDA  of  Rs.  1500  per  Metric  Ton  was provided to fertilizer marketing companies for marketing of city compost and compost manufacturers for selling of compost in bulk quantity directly to farmers.

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