Programme design
Chir-pine (pinus roxburghii) drops dense pine-needle litter — locally called pirul — across the Uttarakhand hill belt every summer. The litter is the single biggest fuel-load behind devastating forest fires in March–May. The Uttarakhand Pirul Scheme combines forest-fire risk reduction with a rural livelihood intervention: village collectors are paid ₹3/kg for delivering pine-needle to designated weighbridges, and a network of registered biomass briquette and pyrolysis bio-fuel plants buy the litter at notified processed rates, converting waste litter into bio-energy.
Benefit structure
- ₹3/kg cash incentive to collectors via DBT, paid against the weighbridge receipt at the collection centre.
- Offtake by registered biomass briquette / pyrolysis bio-fuel plants at a higher processed-rate (~₹50/kg processed and packaged).
- Van-Panchayat / SHG / village cluster aggregator model for at-scale collection.
- Convergence with the Forest Department’s fire-line management — pirul collection reduces fuel-load in the most fire-prone slopes.
- Capital-cost subsidy on pirul-based biomass / pyrolysis units routed through UREDA.
Eligibility
- Van-Panchayat member, SHG member, or forest-fringe village resident in Uttarakhand.
- Aadhaar-seeded bank account.
- Local registration with the Van-Panchayat or SHG that anchors the cluster.
- Weighbridge receipt at a designated collection centre as proof of delivery.
How to apply — step by step
- Register with the Van-Panchayat or SHG that anchors your village cluster.
- Collect pirul from designated forest patches during the pre-monsoon window (March–May) — coordinated to also serve as fire-line management.
- Deliver to the nearest registered collection centre / biomass plant weighbridge.
- Receive the weighbridge slip with weight and grade certification.
- ₹3/kg cash incentive credited via DBT to the Aadhaar-seeded bank account.
- The biomass / pyrolysis plant pays its higher processed-rate to the cluster aggregator on volume tonnage basis.
Latest changes (2024 — 2026)
- 2024: Pirul collection drive scaled with cluster aggregator model; new biomass plants commissioned in Pauri, Almora and Tehri.
- March 2025: ureda.uk.gov.in pirul MIS dashboard tracks village-cluster collection in near-real-time; convergence with the Forest Department fire-management plan deepened.
- August 2025: UREDA notified the ₹50/kg processed-rate offtake support to stabilise buyer side; pyrolysis-bio-oil offtake initiated.
- 2025-26: Exact FY 2025-26 outlay not published as of 2025-26 — figures tabled in Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha replies.
Common rejection reasons + appeal
- Collection outside designated patch: pirul collected from restricted reserve forest without permit is rejected.
- Van-Panchayat / SHG membership missing: individual collector without cluster anchor is redirected to a cluster.
- Weighbridge receipt missing: cash payment requires the weighbridge slip.
- Aadhaar — bank seeding failure: DBT credit fails on NPCI side.
- Grade out of spec: pirul with excessive moisture or foreign matter is downgraded.
Grievance: Cluster Van-Panchayat / SHG → Block UREDA coordinator → UREDA Project Director. Convergence grievance with the Forest Department’s fire-management cell.
How Pirul stacks with other schemes
The Pirul scheme uniquely sits at the intersection of forest-fire management, livelihood support and renewable bio-energy. Convergence with Saur Swarojgar (solar self-employment), PM-KUSUM and the central NMNF for SHG-based natural-input clusters (pirul-derived biochar is an organic-farming input). Forest Department fire-management runs as the convergence partner.
Coverage statistics
Per UREDA dashboards and CM Office press notes, collection volumes have crossed several thousand tonnes across the hill belt since launch, with hundreds of village-clusters anchored. Exact FY-wise collection and incentive-paid figures are tabled in Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha replies.