Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often cited as a reason for Delhi’s choking air quality. The practice of burning of the crop residue, left behind after the harvesting of paddy (rice), usually takes place between September 15 and November 30 every year. During these months, the blame for ‘stubble burning’ is constantly directed at the farmers by the media, the government, and the residents of Delhi NCR. This should lead us to ask a number of crucial questions. One, are farmers of Haryana and Punjab actually causing Delhi to choke in pollution? If yes, then why is the government not doing anything about it? Reports in recent days have begun to surface about fines, imprisonment, and even bureaucratic sanctions and penalties for farmers engaged in stubble burning. Why, then, are farmers so adamant on setting their stubble on fire? Is it due to lack of alternatives or is it done in indifference? Doesn’t setting the crop residue on fire across acres and acres of land create health problems for the farmers and their families? Answering these questions opens us up to a complex set of problems, all of which point towards the fact that Delhi’s bad air is not the farmers’ fault but a systemic issue.
Delhi’s waste generating capacity
At the time of India’s Independence, Delhi’s population was around 9 lakh. As of 2024, this has increased to over 3 crore. Naturally, the city’s carrying capacity, defined as the maximum population that a given area can sustain, is getting overburdened. This means that not only are the natural resources (water, land, etc.) becoming scarcer with every passing year, the air pollution generated by Delhi’s growing population is also exceeding the environment’s natural capacity to process it. There are other sources of pollution as well, which include – to name a few – the waste going into the Yamuna River from our toilets and industries, solid waste from our dustbins piling on to the three infamous landfills of Okhla, Ghazipur and Bhalswa (Delhi’s per capita waste generated is about 0.6 kg/day per person)[i], dust and smoke emitted from endless construction activities, and harmful vehicular emissions (as per Delhi’s Economic Survey 2021-22, about 80 lakh vehicles were running on the city’s roads). Imagine 3 crore residents, and lakhs of visitors from neighbouring regions, generating each category of pollution on a daily basis!
Persistent Pollution
It is not that Delhi’s poor air quality is confined to the winter months. Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) for 2023 was 204,[ii] with the poorest AQI being registered in November, at 373. Notably, apart from July, not a single month’s average AQI in 2023 in Delhi was below 100. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the ideal Air Quality Index (AQI) is between 0–50.[iii] However, the public discourse around poor AQI in the non-winter months is more or less silent.
Winter’s impact on pollution
Since cold air is denser than warm air, Delhi’s winter months witness the colder air causing pollutants to settle down in the lower atmosphere, exacerbating the pollution levels for the residents. The calm winds typical of winter months further contribute to the crisis, as smoke from various sources mixes with fog and accumulates close to the ground, creating a hazardous mixture known as smog. This is the reason why Diwali’s firecrackers become an issue every year, as the festival coincides with the winter months, and heavy metals such as barium and lead also join the party. This is the case with stubble burning as well.
Clearly, stubble burning isn’t the sole reason for Delhi’s problems – it contributes between 20-35% to Delhi’s air pollution during the paddy harvesting months. While there is no denying that this a significant source for Delhi’s poor air for several days, it is only an episodic source of air pollution. Other perennial sources of pollution, including vehicular and construction activities, etc. are the bigger contributors. Despite the dip in farm fires in the last week of November, 2024, the city’s air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category, primarily due to vehicular emissions.[iv] Unfortunately, it is convenient for those in power to shift the blame to stubble burning and politicize the issue, as it distracts and confuses the public, insulating authorities from accountability.
“Let there be rice”
Stubble burning is part of a system and can only be tackled through structural reforms instead of knee-jerk reactions like fines and imprisonment for farmers. Let us first understand why stubble burning is done despite the courts banning the practice since at least 2013.
India, soon after gaining Independence, was reeling with a painful governance issue, i.e., hunger. The country was witnessing repetitive droughts and famines, and had insufficient foodgrains to feed its population. As things worsened in 1960s, MS Swaminathan-led Green Revolution provided a solution. Under the program, emphasis was given on High Yielding Variety (HYV) Seeds – mainly wheat and paddy. While these seeds gave out more produce per acre, they relied heavily on water and fertilizers. In the short and medium term, food scarcity in India was alleviated and large landholding farmers thrived. However, there were a number of long-term problems in the offing – one of them was water scarcity.
For states like Haryana and Punjab, decades and decades of sowing wheat and paddy depleted their groundwater blocks. Paddy was primarily harvested during the summer months of May-June, and since these months were dry, irrigation requirements were met through the extraction of groundwater. Further, sowing paddy in the months of May-June ensured that the crop was harvested in September-October, since paddy takes four to five months to grow. This left enough time for the farmers to prepare their fields for the rabi crop, i.e., wheat, which is sown in mid-November to early December.
In 2009, however, the Punjab government passed the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, which allowed paddy to be sown in fields only after mid-June, when the monsoon had set in. This was intended to reduce the farms’ dependency on groundwater and supplement that with rain-fed irrigation. While the intention to bring in the Act was noble, it moved the paddy cycle forward by at least a month, resulting in its harvesting in October-November. This left the farmers with hardly any time to prepare their fields for the sowing of wheat, due to which they resorted to burning the paddy stubble.
Now, let us see why ‘burning’ was the most viable option for the farmers, despite its numerous ill effects.
Initiatives to prevent stubble-burning
Traditionally, crop residue or stubble had many uses, ranging from thatching to making bed for livestock. However, today there are many alternatives for such purposes. Therefore, the first step to curb stubble-burning is to find uses for the stubble in order to make not burning it economically lucrative for farmers and the larger economy.
The practice of using stubble as livestock feed is decreasing. Farmers in the northern regions of India report a lower preference for paddy straw because of the comparatively high silica content. There have also been reports of wheat straw rejection due to fuel spillover during harvesting by the machines.[v] This leaves room for other ways of in-situ and ex-situ management of crop residue.
In 2014, the Union Government launched the National Policy for Management of Crop Residue. Under this policy, each state needs to have an action plan to stop residue burning, involving people from communities to panchayats to state governments. It also stipulates the states to have a mechanism to alert the cases of crop residue burning. Moreover, crop residue burning is punishable under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. However, the practice is not diminishing but gaining parlance.[vi]
In an NGT directive of 2015, the five states sharing the NCR air-shed were to provide machines, mechanism and equipment or its cost to the farmers to ensure that agricultural residue in these states’ farms is removed, collected, and stored at appropriate identified sites in each district. The directive also suggested a mechanism for providing free equipment to marginal farmers (having 2 acres of land or less) to help them re-use the stubble.[vii]
Loopholes in Government Schemes for Crop Residue Management
In 2018, the central government launched the Crop Residue Management (CRM) Scheme to promote better stubble management, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. In 2024, the guidelines were further updated keeping in mind the inefficiencies in the previous editions by attempting to improve access to CRM solutions for farmers, ensuring efficient utilisation of CRM machinery, and enabling enhanced uptake of crop residue/stubble for biomass aggregators, resulting in increased profits for all – and prevention of stubble burning.
Machinery like Super Seeders cut and uproot the paddy straw, sow wheat seeds, and plough the straw back in the sown area – in a single operation. This is called in-situ management of the stubble.[viii] However, heavy tractors are required to operate machines like the Super Seeders, which cost the farmers Rs. 2,200-2,500 per acre. This additional cost is a significant hurdle in the way of farmers in adopting such practices. Furthermore, machines have a limited lifespan and often cannot work beyond 3-4 years because of their heavy usage. The hesitance by the farmers to use machineries for stubble management can be seen through the fact that in Punjab, the total burnt area under paddy cultivation has increased from 18.54 lakh hectares in 2019 to 19 lakh hectares in 2023[ix] – despite all the government initiatives.
Over the years, the central government has spent hundreds of crores of rupees in the form of subsidies for 2.5 lakh CRM machines for Punjab and Haryana alone.[x] Farmers do apply for subsidy, which is provided at 50% of the total cost of the Super Seeder machines for small farmers. However, many farmers do not receive this subsidy as it is done through a draw. Further, the custom hiring centres (CHCs) do not have the machinery available for rent at times. In villages of up to 300 farmers in a state like Punjab, often only two or three machines are available. Other times, the machines rented are defunct or unsuitable for use.
For ex-situ management of crop residue, i.e., getting the bales of paddy straw collected and sent for biomass generation, private companies charge around Rs. 1,500 per acre. In the absence of government incentives for farmers, this exercise becomes expensive[xi] – while a matchbox costs just one rupee.
Using stubble for biomass generation: Possibilities
Governments’ support is necessary at the state and central level in order to enhance the uptake of stubble for biomass generation. Setting up and running the aggregation business requires a number of things, namely; procurement of CRM machines, undertaking baling activities on farms, efficient storage and transportation of crop residue – and above all, high capital investment and assured buyers.
Considering these factors, the 2023 guidelines allowed aggregators to setup their businesses through agreements with biomass-based industries, which would be the primary promoters and consumers of the collected biomass. In these agreements, the industry stakeholders would contribute 25 percent of the project cost, with the government chipping in with 65 percent and the aggregators contributing the remaining 10 percent. This would make life much easier for farmers, who find it economically difficult to execute successful ex-situ management of their crop residues. Further, it would also contribute in reducing farm fires, making the air of the NCR much more breathable in winter months – although vehicular and construction-based emissions would still remain a challenge.[xii]
However, finding viable markets for crop residue have proven to be difficult and will remain so until the biomass-based sectors become more established in the aggregators’ areas of operation.[xiii]
Way Forward
Crop diversification can be a great way to solve the crisis of stubble burning. Shifting away from paddy and wheat and growing more traditional, less water-intensive crops such as millets, vegetables, and even shorter-duration and less water-intensive paddy varieties like PUSA-2090 and PR-126, would not only alter the paddy’s problematic sowing-harvesting cycle, giving more room to farmers to prepare their fields and avoiding stubble burning, but would also enrich India’s water tables, nutritional security, and soil health.[xiv]
Unfortunately, the farmers choose rice and wheat cultivation for their MSP (Minimum Support Price), at which the government procures these grains for circulation. While the central government provides MSP for more than 20 crops, including millets, etc., factors like delayed or minimal procurement force the farmers to sell these crops in the market at rates below MSP.[xv] Naturally, then, the farmers choose financial prosperity over environmental sustainability. Looking through this lens, the issue of stubble burning is systemic and not an independent occurrence. It is not like the farmers are not aware of the consequences of stubble burning, which range from ill-effects to the health of farmer communities to loss of nutrients from the soil.[xvi]
From politics over stubble burning and mismanagement of the air pollution issue in Delhi and NCR, populist promises by political parties to raise the MSP of paddy and wheat for vote-bank politics, to myopic policy initiatives – all these aspects need to be addressed urgently. Only structural reforms can help solve the crisis at hand.
The Curious Case of Disappearing Water Bodies and its relation with Air Pollution
Studies have given clear evidence that increasing water surface coverage in a region can effectively reduce air pollutant concentrations. The presence of urban water bodies influences local microclimates, enhances the dispersion of airborne pollutants, and increases humidity, which contribute to the settling of particulate matter and the reduction of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. This effect is particularly significant in densely populated urban areas like Delhi, where the concentration of pollutants is typically higher.[xvii]
Another study reveals that the presence of water bodies can mitigate PM2.5 levels by enhancing atmospheric moisture and altering wind patterns, facilitating the dispersion of pollutants.[xviii]
In Delhi, there were about 350 big ponds before the arrival of British.[xix]However, due to increased concretisation and unsustainable development, perennial water bodies in Delhi (and other similar cities) were relegated to becoming ‘monsoonal’. In the absence of monsoons, dry river basins and flood plains become additional sources of dust, which ultimately contribute to air pollution.[xx]
By restoring our water bodies, urban planners can create more sustainable environments that not only improve air quality but also enhance the overall livability of cities.
Author: Sunderam Saxena
(Email ID: sunderam.saxena44@gmail.com)
REFERENCES:
[i]https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/delhi-mounting-waste-crisis-solid-waste-management/article68179968.ece
[ii] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.
aspx?PRID=1991970
[iii] https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/what-are-the-who-air-quality-guidelines
[iv] https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/aqi-at-331-
in-capital-very-
poor-for-6th-day-vehicular-pollution-plagues-delhi-despite-dip-in-farm-
fires-9698040/
[v]https://www.downtoearth.org.in
/governance/as-told-to-
parliament-july-31-2024-india-
facing-fodder-shortage
[vi] https://www.downtoearth.org.in/agriculture/
river-of-fire-57924
[vii] Ibid
[viii]https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/
chandigarh/
punjab-stubble-struggle-crop-residue-management-machines-not-operational-9587258/
[ix] Ibid
[x] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national
/stubb
le-burning-in-punjab-haryana-caught-in-the-cross-farm-fire/article68838126.ece
[xi] https://www.downtoearth.org.in/air/-what-other-option-do-we-have-why-stubble-fires-would-not-die-74174
[xii] https://www.ceew.in/blogs/how-crop-residue-management-guidelines-aim-to-curb-farm-fires-and-stubble-burning
[xiii] Ibid
[xiv] https://indianexpress.com/
article/explained/
explained-
economics/pusa-44-rice-punjab-haryana-stubble-9594896/
[xv] https://indianexpress.com/article/
cities/chandigarh/farmers-protesting-diversification-punjab-msp-law-demand-litany-loss-9179474/
[xvi] https://www.downtoearth.org.in/
agriculture/river-of-fire-57924
[xvii] https://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/abs/pii/S2210670719314210
[xviii] https://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/abs/pii/S1309104222002951
[xix] https://hi.wikisource.org/wiki/आज_भी_खरे_हैं_तालाब/आज_भी_खरे_हैं_तालाब
[xx] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1MOg9xYjGI&ab_channel=ThePrint