For Delhi's Air Pollution Problem, Centre Faults Stubble Burning Incidents In Punjab; '93% Farm Fires This Year In Punjab'

Amid high pollution levels in the national capital Delhi, a meeting chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary and senior officers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi on November 8, observed that stubble burning in Punjab is the major reason behind air pollution in Delhi-NCR during the paddy harvesting season. A total of 22,644 stubble burning incidents have been recorded between September 15 and November 7 and Punjab accounted for 93 per cent of these farm fires, the Central government said.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on X on Thursday that “...93% of farm fire (stubble burning) events this year have happened in Punjab and that was because the Aam Aadmi Party had failed to provide alternatives to farmers.” Since 2018, the Centre had given Rs 1,426 crore to Punjab for crop residue management machines but to little effect, the minister alleged.

Officials in the meeting noted that the Punjab government should immediately launch incentive schemes for encouraging farmers to shift from paddy to other crops. The Haryana government has already been implementing their own incentive scheme for ex-situ management, that is, for procurement of straw from farmers and its transportation, etc.

Stubble burning in Punjab

The air quality in Delhi has been deteriorating over the past six days days since November 3, with stubble burning in neighbouring states, especially Punjab and Haryana, accounting for 37 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi on Tuesday, according to data from the Decision Support System, a numerical model-based framework capable of identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi.

According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Punjab, which accounts for the maximum number of cases of stubble burning every year, reported a decline in farm fires over the years with 49,922 farm fires in 2022, compared to 71,304 the previous year and 83,002 in 2020. The Punjab government has issued instructions to the police and state administration to crack down on farmers who continue to burn paddy straw. 

The government has also said that FIRs will be registered against those in violation of the law, according to a report by Tribune.

The air quality in Delhi on Thursday too was in the 'severe' category and monitoring agencies predict no significant relief in the next five to six days. However, Delhi woke up to light rains on Friday and a slight dip in the AQI.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today is scheduled to hear the air pollution matter in which the Union government and the Punjab and Delhi governments are likely to present their view.