Current Affairs · · GS3 · Environment

Stubble fires persist as crop cycle, incentives and weak monitoring collide

Paddy straw burning in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh returns every October and November, worsening north India’s winter air. An analysis traces it to groundwater laws, assured paddy procurement and a short gap before wheat sowing. Satellite data also understate the problem, because farmers now burn in the evening, after the satellites pass overhead.

Event date:

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  1. Context1 / 5
    • Stubble burning is the open burning of crop residue, mainly paddy straw, after the kharif harvest in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
    • It adds to north India's winter smog, damages soil and releases greenhouse gases. Farm fires can contribute up to about a third of Delhi's fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution in some autumn periods.
    • An analysis argues that the practice persists because of legal, technological and economic factors, not just farmer choice. It also says official figures may overstate the progress made.
  2. Key highlights2 / 5

    The causes form a chain, each step squeezing the next.

    • Groundwater law shifts the calendar. The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 delays paddy transplanting until the monsoon, to cut groundwater use. That pushes the harvest into late October and November.
    • A narrow window. Farmers then have roughly 10 to 15 days to clear their fields and sow wheat. Burning is the quickest and cheapest way.
    • Machines leave stubble. Combine harvesters leave tall stalks behind. Long-duration varieties such as Pusa-44 delay the harvest further.
    • Incentives favour paddy. Assured government procurement at the minimum support price, and subsidised power, make paddy the safest crop and discourage diversification. Procurement is said to cover most paddy output in Punjab and Haryana, far above the national share.
    • The ecological cost. NASA's GRACE satellites recorded a loss of about 109 cubic km of groundwater in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan between 2002 and 2008. That is why the 2009 law exists, and why simply advancing the sowing date is not an answer.
  3. Note3 / 5

    What has been tried

    • Legal action. National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court orders, and fines. The limit: penalties do not ease farmers’ cost and time pressures.
    • In-situ management, in the field. Happy Seeder and Super Seeder sow wheat through the straw. The limit: costly machines, and shortages at peak season.
    • Ex-situ use, off the field. Straw for biomass power, compressed biogas and bioethanol. The limit: collection and transport cost, and few reliable buyers.
    • Subsidies. The Central Crop Residue Management scheme funds machines and Custom Hiring Centres. The limit: uneven availability when they are needed most.

    Residue management is estimated to cost ₹1,500 to ₹2,500 per acre, which is why remunerative straw markets matter.

  4. Note4 / 5

    The measurement problem

    • How fires are counted. Official monitoring relies mainly on NASA's MODIS and VIIRS satellites. These orbit the poles and pass over India between late morning and early afternoon.
    • Farmers burn later. iFOREST found that over 90% of large fires in Punjab in 2024 and 2025 occurred after 3 pm, against 3% in 2021. Most fires now happen after the satellites have passed.
    • Fire counts against burnt area. Mapping the area burnt gives a truer picture than counting fires.

    Burnt-area estimates from iFOREST's Stubble Burning Status Report 2025:

    • Punjab. 31,447 sq km in 2022, the peak, down to about 20,000 sq km in 2025, a decline of 37%.
    • Haryana. 11,633 sq km in 2019, down to 8,812 sq km in 2025, a decline of 25%.
    • A better method. Researchers at ISRO's Space Applications Centre used geostationary satellites, which image India every 15 to 30 minutes, to show the daily burning peak moving from about 1.30 pm in 2020 to about 5 pm in 2024. Combining these with polar satellites and ground checks would improve accuracy.
  5. Way forward5 / 5

    These are suggested measures, not adopted policy.

    • Diversify crops, by offering viable procurement and markets for pulses, oilseeds and maize.
    • Improve access to machines through cooperatives, Farmer Producer Organisations and Custom Hiring Centres, timed for the short sowing window.
    • Create profitable straw markets, with prices that cover collection, baling and transport, backed by long-term contracts with biomass and biogas plants.
    • Measure accurately, by combining satellite data, burnt-area estimates and ground checks, with the Commission for Air Quality Management coordinating the States.
    • Offer viable alternatives before penalties, so that enforcement does not fall on farmers who have no other option.

Sources

Syllabus

PaperSubjectSub-topic
GS3EnvironmentConservation, environmental pollution and degradation
GS3EconomyCropping patterns; agricultural subsidies and the minimum support price
PrelimsEnvironmentAir pollution; crop residue management; the Commission for Air Quality Management; remote sensing

Topics

Agriculture and EnvironmentPollutionAgriculture EconomySpace Technology

Practice questions

  1. Consider the following statements about stubble burning in north India: 1. The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 delays paddy transplanting to conserve groundwater. 2. The Happy Seeder allows wheat to be sown without removing paddy straw. 3. MODIS and VIIRS are geostationary satellites that image India every 15 minutes. Which of the statements given above are correct?

    1. 1 and 2 only
    2. 2 and 3 only
    3. 1 and 3 only
    4. 1, 2 and 3
    Show answer

    Answer: A. Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong, and the distinction matters: MODIS and VIIRS sit on polar-orbiting satellites that cross a given area only a few times a day, which is why a shift in burning to the late afternoon escapes them. Geostationary satellites, which do image continuously, are what the newer studies use.

    Difficulty: medium · statement

  2. Why do active-fire counts from polar-orbiting satellites tend to understate stubble burning?

    1. Smoke blocks all satellite sensors
    2. Most burning now occurs after the satellites' daytime overpass
    3. The satellites cannot see agricultural land
    4. Fires are too large to be counted
    Show answer

    Answer: B. A polar-orbiting satellite sees a given field only during its overpass, which falls between late morning and early afternoon. Burning has shifted to the late afternoon and evening, so a fire lit at 5 pm may have burnt out before the next pass and never be counted at all.

    Difficulty: medium · statement

Mains practice

Answer-writing practice on this article. Attempt it first, then open the hints.

  1. GS3 · 250 words

    "Stubble burning is less a farmer’s choice than a product of policy incentives." Discuss, and suggest a sustainable solution.

    Show hints
    1. Trace the chain from the groundwater law, which delays transplanting for sound reasons, to a harvest that ends only days before wheat must be sown.
    2. Explain why that window makes burning rational for an individual farmer, given the cost of machinery and the loss from sowing late.
    3. Bring in assured procurement and subsidised power, which make paddy the safe choice and blunt every argument for diversification.
    4. Address the measurement problem, since a policy judged by fire counts that miss evening burning will mistake displacement for progress.
    5. Conclude on sequencing: viable alternatives, straw markets and machine access must come before penalties, or enforcement simply punishes farmers with no option.