CM calls for locally viable biomass solutions to decarbonize J&K’s economy

Srinagar, Sep 2: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Wednesday called upon engineers, scientists and academic institutions to harness Jammu and Kashmir’s abundant biomass resources to develop locally suited, economically viable and environmentally sustainable solutions for reducing dependence on fossil fuels and decarbonizing the economy.
The Chief Minister was addressing the inaugural session of the 41st National Convention of Chemical Engineers and National Seminar on “Biomass: A Sustainable Resource for Decarbonizing the Economy”, organized under the aegis of the Chemical Engineering Division Board of The Institution of Engineers (India) (IEI) in association with the Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Srinagar, at the IEI J&K State Centre here.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Vice Chancellor University of Kashmir Prof. Nelofer Khan, Director NIT Srinagar Anurag Mishra, Chairman IEI J&K State Centre Ferdous Ahad Bhat, Chairman Chemical Engineering Division Board, FIE, Prof. G. Madhu, besides engineers, academicians and other experts attended the two-day national convention and seminar.
Highlighting the significance of the convention being held in Jammu & Kashmir after a gap of several decades, the Chief Minister said the last National Convention of the IEI held in J&K had taken place in early 1989.
“For us, to have all of you present for the 41st National Convention, organized by our own NIT Srinagar and the Chemical Engineering Division Board, is a significant moment,” he said, while expressing appreciation to the organizers for choosing biomass and decarbonization as the central theme of the convention.
The Chief Minister said the need to reduce dependence on carbon-based fuels had become increasingly urgent, both from the perspective of energy security and the growing environmental consequences of using fossil-fuel.
He said recent pressures on fuel supplies had underlined the vulnerabilities associated with excessive dependence on carbon-based energy sources, while the consequences of unchecked fossil-fuel use were becoming increasingly visible in the form of global warming and climate-related disasters.
“Those of us who are roughly around my age or maybe a little older have seen with our own eyes the way in which our glaciers are retreating and shrinking,” Omar Abdullah said, highlighting the particular vulnerability of the Himalayan region to climate change.
Referring to the Thajiwas glacier near Sonamarg, the Chief Minister said the extent of glacier retreat could be understood from personal experience.
“We have only to travel two hours out of Srinagar to go to Sonamarg to see the Thajiwas glacier there,” he said, recalling that it was once possible to reach the foot of the glacier after a short walk, whereas today it requires a considerably longer trek. He said such changes offered a stark reminder of the environmental consequences of the continued and unchecked use of fossil fuels.
However, the Chief Minister cautioned that moving away from a carbon-based economy could not be achieved simply by switching from one energy source to another overnight.
“Economically viable, sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions are the need of the hour,” he said, stressing that alternative energy solutions must be capable of competing economically with established sources of power.
Omar Abdullah pointed out that Jammu & Kashmir possessed significant biomass resources generated through agriculture, horticulture, forests, municipal waste and increasing consumption.
“We are sitting on a wealth of biomass whether we like it or not,” he said, adding that the challenge was to develop effective mechanisms for converting this resource into useful energy.
The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir had so far struggled to develop a workable and sustainable model for waste-to-energy, despite generating sufficient waste to support such initiatives.
He observed that the economic viability of waste-to-energy projects remained a major challenge, particularly when compared with relatively cheaper sources such as solar and hydropower.
At the same time, he stressed that economic considerations could not be the only factor determining the future of waste management and energy policy.
“We will have to do it,” he said, underlining the need to address not only the problem of legacy waste but also the continuously increasing generation of organic waste that could potentially be converted into energy.
The Chief Minister also recalled his efforts during his previous tenure to explore the possibility of converting plant material harvested from Dal Lake into biofuel, in collaboration with higher education institutions, particularly the agricultural university.
He said that while the idea had so far remained largely at the discussion stage, such initiatives needed to be pursued with greater determination and through practical experimentation.
Drawing from a personal experience at a boarding school in Himachal Pradesh, the Chief Minister illustrated how seemingly unconventional ideas could eventually become successful and practical solutions.
He recalled how one of his teachers had proposed establishing a poultry farm at the school to ensure an in-house supply of eggs. The teacher then went a step further by exploring the possibility of converting poultry waste into biogas.
“What initially may seem to others as a pipe dream or may even for people evoke mockery, actually, in the long term, if you keep going at it, people will realize that the mockery was wrong and the vision was actually the correct thing,” Omar Abdullah said.
He said the school ultimately developed a workable system in which poultry waste was converted into biogas, which was then transported almost a kilometre to the central dining hall and used to reduce dependence on fossil fuels for cooking.
The Chief Minister urged scientists, engineers and academic institutions not to be discouraged by unsuccessful experiments while working on new technologies and solutions.
“Let us not be afraid of failure,” he said, stressing that experimentation and learning from unsuccessful attempts were essential for technological progress.
He cited the example of Thomas Edison and his approach to experimentation while developing the electric light bulb, as well as contemporary technological ventures where failed experiments provide valuable data for subsequent innovations.
Omar Abdullah called for the collective intellectual capacity of the engineers, scientists and institutions participating in the convention to be channeled towards developing practical projects capable of addressing Jammu and Kashmir’s specific requirements.
“We need to commit the awesome brain power that is present in this room, or that is represented by the institutions that are present here, to arrive at workable, sustainable, economically viable projects,” he said.
He emphasized that solutions for biomass utilization could not simply be replicated from one part of the country to another, given the differences in available resources, geography, climate and local conditions.
“The biomass of Jammu and Kashmir will not be the same as the biomass of Maharashtra, will not be the same as the biomass of Tamil Nadu,” he said, calling for greater emphasis on localized and indigenized solutions.
The Chief Minister suggested that the deliberations of the convention should culminate in concrete recommendations that could be examined by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and subsequently shared with governments in other parts of the country as well as the Government of India.
He said the objective should be to identify technologies and models that could simultaneously address waste management, energy generation, environmental sustainability and economic viability.
“Let us arrive at localized, sustainable, economical solutions,” he said, emphasizing that Jammu and Kashmir should seek to utilize biomass that is available locally rather than depend on resources brought in from outside.
The Chief Minister said the ultimate objective of such efforts should be to gradually move the economy away from excessive carbon dependence while protecting the environment for future generations.
“We have to be able to give them a planet that is more sustainable than the planet that we have inherited from our forefathers,” he said, referring to the young participants and students present at the convention.
He expressed hope that the two-day national convention would produce actionable recommendations and practical ideas capable of translating scientific research into field-level solutions.
“If we are able to do that, I believe this national convention will more than have met the goals that it set for itself,” he said.
The Chief Minister wished the participants and organizers success in their deliberations and expressed hope for continued engagement with the Institution of Engineers (India) and the engineering and academic community in Jammu and Kashmir.