Vedanta Group on Thursday said that the biomass manufacturing facility of its power arm, Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL), has played a key role in sharply reducing stubble burning and farm fire incidents in Punjab’s Mansa district. The 1,980 MW supercritical thermal power plant has established a 500-tonne-per-day biomass manufacturing unit in Mansa to convert locally sourced paddy residue into torrefied bio-pellets.

According to data cited by Vedanta, stubble burning cases in Mansa dropped from 2,253 incidents in 2023 to 618 in 2024, and further to 306 in 2025 — marking an 87 per cent reduction in two years and over 50 per cent in one year. Out of 244 villages in the district, 104 reported zero farm fires this year, including previous hotspots such as Heron Kalan and Dodra, which reduced from 45 and 31 cases respectively in 2023 to none in 2025.

The company said TSPL’s supercritical plant cannot use conventional biomass and requires high-density, carbon-neutral pellets that are not readily available in the market. To address this, TSPL supported its partners in setting up Punjab’s largest torrefied bio-pellet plant with a capacity of 500 tonnes per day near its unit. This ecosystem ensures steady supply, converts crop residue into high-value fuel, and provides assured buy-back arrangements for farmers.

Rajinder Singh Ahuja, CEO-Power, Vedanta Ltd, said effective stubble management is crucial to improving Punjab’s air quality, adding that TSPL’s collaboration with farmers and partners has helped drive the sharp fall in farm fires in Mansa over the past two years.