🔆 WHY STUBBLE FIRES KEEP COMING BACK
📚 AnmolVachan1
🔆 ISSUE: Stubble Burning in North India
🟢 Stubble burning is the practice of setting fire to crop residue left after harvesting, particularly paddy straw.
🟢 It is prevalent in Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, mainly during October–November.
🟢 It releases particulate matter, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants, worsening air quality and harming human health.
🔆 WHY DO FARMERS BURN STUBBLE?
📍 1. Narrow Sowing Window
🟢 The short interval between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing leaves farmers with limited time to clear fields.
🟢 Manual removal is time-consuming, while residue-management machinery may be expensive or unavailable.
📍 2. Paddy–Wheat Cropping Cycle
🟢 Assured procurement and price support for rice and wheat encourage the continuation of the existing cropping pattern.
🟢 Water-intensive paddy cultivation also contributes to groundwater depletion.
📍 3. Economic Constraints
🟢 Machines such as Happy Seeders, Super Seeders and Rotavators can manage crop residue but involve significant costs.
🟢 Small farmers may lack access to affordable machinery and custom-hiring services.
🔆 LEGAL & POLICY FRAMEWORK
📍 Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act, 2009
🟢 Delayed paddy transplantation and cultivation helped conserve groundwater but also compressed the time available between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing.
🟢 This has contributed to the narrow window in which farmers manage paddy residue.
📍 Supreme Court & Government Action
🟢 The Supreme Court upheld the exclusion of stubble-burning fines from the purview of the PM-KISAN scheme in 2023.
🟢 Policy responses include penalties, crop-residue management subsidies, machinery support and incentives for alternative uses of paddy straw.
🔆 SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS
📍 1. In-situ Management
🟢 Crop residue is managed within the field using Happy Seeders, Super Seeders, Rotavators and direct-seeding techniques.
🟢 These methods can reduce the need for burning while improving soil management.
📍 2. Ex-situ Management
🟢 Paddy straw can be used for bioethanol production, compressed biogas, biomass energy and other industrial applications.
🟢 However, transportation, storage, processing costs and limited industrial capacity remain major barriers.
📍 3. Financial Incentives
🟢 Incentives for crop diversification can reduce excessive dependence on the paddy–wheat cycle.
🟢 Affordable machinery rental, custom-hiring centres and support for alternative crops can make residue management economically viable.
📍 4. Monitoring & Enforcement
🟢 Satellite-based monitoring helps detect and estimate stubble-burning incidents.
🟢 Reliable measurement is essential because satellite observations may miss short-lived fires or underestimate total burned area.
🔆 KEY DATA & GOVERNANCE
🟢 According to the article, Punjab and Haryana recorded a 90% reduction in stubble-burning incidents in 2025 compared with 2022, although the figures require cautious interpretation because of measurement limitations.
🟢 The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) plays a key role in coordinating air-pollution control measures across the National Capital Region and adjoining areas.
🔆 WAY FORWARD
🟢 Short term: Expand affordable residue-management machinery, improve enforcement and strengthen farmer awareness.
🟢 Medium term: Develop biomass supply chains, bioenergy industries and reliable markets for paddy straw.
🟢 Long term: Promote crop diversification, sustainable agriculture and less water-intensive cropping patterns.
🟢 Institutional reform: Combine farmer incentives, technological solutions and credible monitoring rather than relying mainly on penalties.
🟢 Scientific monitoring: Integrate satellite observations with ground-level verification for more accurate measurement of burning.
🔆 CONCLUSION
🟢 Stubble burning is a multidimensional problem involving economic, technological, agricultural and legal factors.
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