Every year, during October and November, the smoke rising from the fields of Punjab and Haryana chokes Delhi and all of North India. Stubble burning is a result of both farmers’ compulsion and policymakers’ failure. Unless farmers’ interests, agricultural needs, and environmental protection are addressed in tandem, pollution will neither decrease nor will rural India find a path to sustainable livelihoods.
Every year, during the rice harvest season, smoke from the fields of Punjab and Haryana fills the sky with haze. These aren’t just field fires, but a searing reflection of India’s agricultural policies, economic inequality, and environmental imbalances. Delhi and its surrounding areas are blanketed in this smoke, and air quality plummets to extremely poor levels.
Burning of stubble is legally prohibited, yet farmers repeat it every year because there are many social and economic reasons behind it.
The primary cause of stubble burning is the paddy stubble left in the fields. Once the paddy crop is harvested, farmers have neither the time nor the resources to remove the residue. The agricultural systems of Punjab and Haryana are primarily based on rice and wheat. The Green Revolution of the 1960s transformed these states into the nation’s granary, but also made agriculture monotonous and water-intensive. To prevent excessive groundwater exploitation, the Punjab Sub-Water Conservation Act was enacted in 2009, dictating that paddy planting be completed by the end of June to benefit from monsoon rains.
As a result, the gap between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing is only ten to twenty days. Farmers cannot prepare their fields by collecting or rotting the stubble in such a short time, so they resort to the fastest and cheapest solution—burning it.
Another major reason is economic. The machines required to remove or dispose of stubble—such as the Super Straw Management System, Happy Seeder, Baler, or Rotavator—are extremely expensive. Small and marginal farmers with land holdings of less than three hectares are unable to purchase or rent these machines. For example, the rental of a Happy Seeder costs around two to three thousand rupees per acre, while burning stubble costs only a matchbox and some diesel. This practicality is deeply ingrained in this problem.
The third reason is the low utility value of straw. Most rice varieties grown in Punjab and Haryana are ordinary, with high silica content. This straw is not usable as animal feed, nor can it be easily converted into biofuel or fertilizer. While rice straw is used as animal feed in eastern Indian states, this use is limited in Punjab and Haryana. Therefore, straw does not provide any economic benefit to farmers here.
The fourth reason is labor shortages and the fragmentation of land holdings. The number of migrant laborers is declining, and small farms lack the capacity to deploy machinery. Short on time and labor, farmers burn stubble in a hurry to sow the next crop.
Stubble burning has become a socially accepted practice over the years. Farmers believe it’s the easiest and most traditional way to clear their fields. Despite laws and fines, the practice persists because enforcement is lax and political pressure prevents the administration from taking strict action. In 2023, nearly 60,000 stubble-burning incidents were recorded in Punjab, despite both fines and monitoring measures.
Now the question is, what could be the permanent solution to this problem?
Clearly, bans or penalties alone will not solve this problem. It is essential to adopt a strategy that combines both farmer livelihoods and environmental protection.
The first solution is crop diversification. The land in Punjab and Haryana is tired of the continuous rice-wheat cycle. Water levels are also falling. Therefore, maize, pulses, oilseeds, and horticultural crops should be promoted. If the government ensures minimum support prices, insurance coverage, and assured procurement for these crops, farmers can gradually reduce their dependence on rice. Haryana’s “Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana” is a good example in this direction, compensating farmers for price differences.
Another solution is mechanization and shared resources. Machines should be made available to farmers for shared use. Custom hiring centers should be established at the panchayat or cooperative level, where farmers can rent machines like the Happy Seeder or Super Straw Management System at a low cost. Under the central government’s “Crop Residue Management Scheme,” more than 100,000 machines have been distributed in Punjab and Haryana, but they haven’t reached all farmers. If community mechanized centers were established in every village, farmers would avoid burning stubble.
The third solution is to use stubble industrially. Stubble should be viewed as a resource, not waste. It can be used to produce bioenergy, ethanol, paper, packaging, and construction materials. For example, Indian Oil Corporation’s Panipat biorefinery produces ethanol from approximately 200,000 tons of stubble annually. If such projects were established in every district, stubble would become a source of income for farmers and the need for burning would be reduced. The government should develop policies to provide transportation assistance, procurement contracts, and sustainable markets.
The fourth step should be agro-ecological timing. Adopting short-duration rice varieties, such as PR-126 or DRR Dhan-44, could give farmers a few extra days between harvesting and sowing. This time could be used for stubble management.
Along with this, precision agriculture i.e. use of precise technical means, improvement in water irrigation system and use of organic fertilizers will also provide environmental benefits.
Fifth, community encouragement and public awareness. Farmers who do not burn stubble should be given financial incentives, village-level competitions should be held, and “zero-burn villages” should be declared. In Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana, stubble is being converted into compost in the field using an organic solution called “Pusa Decomposer.” If this technology is adopted on a large scale, stubble burning will be eliminated.
Sixth, administrative coordination and policy coherence. There should be coordination between the central and state governments so that the departments of agriculture, environment, and energy work under a common plan. Stubble management can be integrated with rural employment schemes, bioenergy missions, and climate change programs. For example, stubble collection or work in biofertilizer units could be linked to employment under MNREGA.
Seventh, urban-rural partnerships would also be useful in this direction. Metropolises like Delhi, where pollution is most prevalent, should provide financial assistance to farmers in Punjab and Haryana through their social responsibility funds. This would foster a sense of shared responsibility between the source of pollution and the affected area.
In addition, technical monitoring systems should be strengthened. Satellite-based data can provide rapid information about stubble burning incidents, enabling local authorities to intervene promptly. However, this intervention should be collaborative, not merely punitive.
All these measures aim to make farmers partners, not culpable. Farmers burn stubble because they lack viable alternatives. When they find alternatives that are affordable, profitable, and environmentally friendly, they will become part of the solution.
Ultimately, it must be understood that stubble burning is not only an environmental crisis but also a result of socio-economic imbalance. To prevent this, a coordination of farmer welfare, policy reform, and technical support is essential. If stubble is used for energy, industry, and organic fertilizer, it can become a tool for development rather than a source of pollution.
The solution to the problem of stubble burning will lie not only in bans and penalties, but in sensitive policy, farmer participation, and technological innovation. Only when crop diversification, mechanization, industrial use of stubble, and community incentives work together will both clean air and safe agriculture be possible. This balance is the only way to free North India from stubble burning and move towards sustainable agricultural development
