Asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation in Indian Himalayan region, NTPC Dadri strives to become the cleanest coal fired plant of India
Asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation in Indian Himalayan region
- Due to efforts of CSIR constituent laboratory, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, a historical shift in farming practices is in the offing with farmers of the remote Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh taking up cultivation of asafoetida (Heeng) to utilize vast expanses of waste land in the cold desert conditions of the region. CSIR-IHBT brought in seeds of asafoetida and developed its agro-technology.
- Asafoetida is one of the top condiments and is a high value spice crop in India.
- India imports about 1200 tonnes of raw asafoetida annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends approximately 100 million USD per year.
- Lack of planting material of Ferula assa-foetida plants in India was a major bottleneck in cultivation of this crop.
- The first seedling of asafoetida was planted by Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSIR-IHBT on 15th October, 2020 at farmer’s field in village Kwaring of Lahaul valley to mark initiation of cultivation of asafoetida in India.
- Since asafoetida is a major condiment in Indian cuisines, team CSIR-IHBT made relentless efforts for introduction of this important crop in the country.
- The institute introduced six accessions of seeds from Iran through ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR), New Delhi in October, 2018.
- ICAR-NBPGR confirmed that in the past thirty years, this has been the first attempt for introduction of asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) seeds in the country.
- CSIR-IHBT raised the plants of heeng at CeHAB, Ribling, Lahaul & Spiti, H.P. under the vigil of NBPGR.
- The plant prefers cold and dry conditions for its growth and takes approximately five years for the production of oleo-gum resin in its roots, therefore cold desert areas of Indian Himalayan region are suitable for cultivation of asafoetida.
- Raw asafoetida is extracted from the fleshy roots of Ferula assa-foetida as an oleo-gum resin.
- Although, there are about 130 species of Ferula found in the world, but only Ferula assa-foetidais the economically important species used for the production of asafoetida.
- In India, we do not have Ferula assa-foetida, but other species Ferula jaeschkeana is reported from the western Himalaya (Chamba, HP), and Ferula narthex from Kashmir and Ladakh, which are not the species that yield asafoetida.
- Himachal Pradesh announced the introduction and cultivation of Heeng in the state in his budget speech, on March 6, 2020.
- Consequently, MoU between CSIR-IHBT and State Department of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh was signed on June 6, 2020 for a joint collaboration for the cultivation of heeng in the State.
- A capacity building program was organized for officers of the State Department of Agriculture from July 20 to 22, 2020 in which twelve officers from different districts of Himachal Pradesh participated.
NTPC Dadri strives to become the cleanest coal fired plant of India
- NTPC Dadri is striving to become the cleanest coal fired plant in the country and is complying with all the CPCB guidelines on emissions.
- For SOx reduction, Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) system has been installed in 210 MW units for the first time in the country with technology from UCC (United Conveyor corporation) , USA and now all the four units are meeting emission norms.
- FGD system is in advanced stage of implementation in 490 MW units by BHEL with technology from Mitsubishi Power Works, Japan.
- All the 210 MW units were already compliant to NOx emission norms. In 490 MW units, SOFA (Separated Overfire Air) system has been installed and all the units now comply with the norms for NOx.
- NTPC Dadri has also pioneered co-firing of Biomass pellets along with coal in the boilers.
- The pellets are made of husk or agro-residue which would have been burnt otherwise in the fields increasing the pollution in NCR region.
- More than 8000 Tons of pellets have been fired in the boilers of NTPC Dadri, which is equivalent to almost 4000 acres of farm fire avoided.
- NTPC Dadri has set new benchmarks in Water consumption, going beyond compliances, by implementing Zero liquid discharge system, and Rain water harvesting system.
About NTPC’s efforts towards a sustainable environment:
- NTPC’s efforts in leading the energy transition to a decentralised, decarbonised and digitalised energy.
- It provides broad framework for the company’s priorities to meet the challenges in Decarbonisation & Air emissions control, Water & Biodiversity Conservation, Circular Economy, Health and Safety, Community Development, Strong Finance & Ethics and Sustainable Supply Chain.
- As part of its commitment towards the environment, NTPC has undertaken a many ‘firsts’ for the sector.
- NTPC is working towards utilising agro residue for power generation to discourage in-field crop residue burning.
- NTPC is also striving hard to install sulphur dioxide-reducing technology flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) at all its plants across the country.
- NTPC is also working towards various waste to energy projects for a sustainable environment.
- NTPC is also taking every possible step to make its energy portfolio greener by adding significant capacities of Renewable Energy (RE) Sources.
- By 2032, the company plans to have a minimum of 32000 MW capacity through RE sources constituting nearly 25% of its overall power generation capacity.
