Stop penalising farmers for stubble burning: RSS body

1. At a Glance

• The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), a farmers' organisation affiliated with the RSS, welcomed the Supreme Court's observations on stubble burning and Delhi-NCR air pollution. It asked State governments to stop penalising farmers [1].
• The SC Bench said stubble burning is one of several contributors, and that vehicular emissions and industrial pollution play a significant role [1].
• The farmers' case runs against the State's enforcement approach. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has been tightening action: prosecution powers for district officials, a "Parali Protection Force", and farm-level mapping [3][4].
• UPSC relevance: GS-III (pollution, crop residue management, agri-economics), GS-II (judicial role, Centre–State coordination), and the Prelims staples CAQM, in-situ vs ex-situ management and biomass co-firing.

2. Why in the News

• 11 Nov 2026 (Wednesday): The BKS welcomed the SC's remarks. It urged States and administrative authorities to implement the court's recommendations and stop penalising farmers [1].
• SC Bench: CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. It cited the clear skies during the COVID-19 lockdown, even though stubble was still being burnt, as a reason to examine other major sources of pollution [1].
• BKS All India General Secretary Mohini Mohan Mishra asked States to "move beyond paperwork" and identify the actual causes of pollution instead of "repeatedly blaming farmers" [1].
• The BKS welcomed the court's suggestion of a procurement mechanism for crop residue [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• The problem: After the paddy harvest, farmers burn residue to clear fields quickly before sowing wheat. In 2026 CAQM also targeted wheat stubble burning, which happens in summer [3].
• Milestones:
• 2023: Punjab submitted a State Action Plan and district-wise Action Plans to CAQM for the paddy harvesting season [6].
• Oct 2024: CAQM authorised Deputy Commissioners / District Magistrates in Punjab, Haryana, the NCR parts of Rajasthan and UP, and Delhi to file prosecution complaints against officials for inaction [4].
• Dec 2025: CAQM reported an ~92% overall reduction in paddy stubble-burning incidents in NCR in 2025 compared with 2021 [5].
• Feb 2026: CAQM issued a Statutory Direction with action plans to eliminate wheat stubble burning in 2026 [3].
• May 2026: CAQM reviewed how prepared the States were to eliminate stubble burning in 2026 [2].

• Nov 2026: The SC described stubble burning as one of many sources. The BKS called for an end to penalising farmers [1].

• Earlier efforts: States distributed subsidised crop residue management (CRM) machinery to individual farmers and to Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) [4].

4. Core Static Facts

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

• Economic
• Farmers have a short gap between the paddy harvest and wheat sowing. Burning is the cheapest way to clear fields. A procurement mechanism would give stubble a price and turn it from waste into an asset [1].

• Demand from ex-situ users (the 50% straw mandate for thermal plants and 5% pellet co-firing) is the main way to create a market for residue [2].

• Environmental

• The SC's COVID-19 lockdown point shows that vehicles, industry and dust cause pollution all year, while stubble burning is episodic [1].

• CAQM itself now calls stubble burning a year-round air quality challenge, not just a seasonal one [2].

• Social / Equity

• Penalties fall hardest on small and marginal farmers, who cannot easily afford machinery or hire it from CHCs. The BKS presents blame on farmers as unfair [1][4].

• Legal / Judicial

• The SC is shaping policy through its observations: it suggested a residue procurement mechanism and asked for other sources to be examined [1].

• The tension is between penalising farmers (environmental compensation, prosecution) and incentivising them [1][4].

• Governance / Federal

• CAQM is a central statutory body, but implementation depends on States, through district action plans and nodal officers [3][6].

• The BKS criticises "paperwork" compliance that does not deliver results on the ground [1].

• Political

• An RSS affiliate is publicly pushing back on enforcement. This shows farm groups pressing on air pollution policy across party lines [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• Dec 2025: CAQM reported an ~92% drop in paddy stubble-burning incidents in NCR compared with 2021 [5].
• Feb 2026: CAQM issued its Statutory Direction on eliminating wheat stubble burning: Parali Protection Force, farm mapping, monthly reports [3].
• May 2026: CAQM reviewed preparedness with Punjab, Haryana and UP, and stressed both in-situ and ex-situ CRM. Fire counts for 1 Apr–6 May 2026 were Punjab 3,729, Haryana 2,683 and UP (NCR) 176 [2].
• Nov 2026: The SC Bench (CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi) called stubble burning one of several contributors. The BKS responded on 11 Nov 2026 [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• BKS is a farmers' organisation affiliated with the RSS [1].
• Mohini Mohan Mishra is the BKS All India General Secretary [1].
• The SC Bench that heard the Nov 2026 matter: CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi [1].
• COVID-19 lockdown clear skies were cited to show that sources other than stubble burning matter [1].
• Thermal plants within 300 km of NCR must use ≥50% paddy straw from Punjab, Haryana or NCR [2].
• Coal plants in NCR must co-fire ≥5% biomass pellets [2].
• "Parali Protection Force" teams were mandated at district/block level by CAQM's Feb 2026 direction [3].
• That direction also asked Delhi and Rajasthan to work towards eliminating wheat stubble burning [3].
• Oct 2024: DCs and DMs were empowered to file prosecution complaints against officials for inaction [4].
• >3 lakh CRM machines and >40,000 CHCs across four States [4].
• Reported fall in NCR paddy stubble burning: ~92% in 2025 vs 2021 [5].
• Punjab had the highest fire counts in Apr–May 2026: 3,729 [2].

8. How Much of Delhi's Smog Comes from Stubble? It Depends on the Day

• The "stubble share" changes a lot with the time period you measure
• Source apportionment means working out what share of the pollution each source causes. PM2.5 means very fine dust particles that go deep into the lungs.
• In 2021, a central government affidavit put stubble at only about 4% of Delhi's PM2.5. That figure is an average over the whole year [15].
• In the burning season (October–November), estimates of stubble's share rise to about 13–17% [15].

• Both numbers are correct. They answer different questions: the 4% is about the whole year, the 13–17% is about the bad weeks [15].

• In 2026, vehicles caused more of the smog than stubble, but stubble was not small

• Before Diwali 2026, CSE found that local sources caused 33.06% of Delhi's PM2.5 and stubble burning caused 14.29% [13].
• Transport was the largest local source [13].

• Stubble's daily share went up and down: 11.5% on 1 November, 8.6% the next day, and a peak of 16.2% on 4 November [13].

• Some weeks, stubble hardly matters at all

• An analysis of IITM data for 12–21 October 2024 found that vehicles caused over half of Delhi's PM2.5. Stubble caused only 0.92% [14].
• Why this matters: the SC's view that stubble is "one of several contributors" fits the data. But the data also shows that stubble matters most on the worst days, and those are the days the public notices.

9. Where the Farmers' Argument Is Weaker Than It Sounds

• The COVID-19 lockdown example compares the wrong season
• The strict lockdown of 2020 fell in spring and summer. That is when wheat stubble is burnt [3].
• Most of the smoke that reaches Delhi comes from paddy stubble burnt in October–November. That is when burning makes up about 13–17% of PM2.5 [15].

• So clear skies during the lockdown show that vehicles and industry matter. They do not show that paddy-season burning is harmless.

• Burning still happens on a large scale

• Between 15 September and 1 November 2026, there were 3,316 paddy stubble-burning incidents across seven States. That was 26.63% fewer than last year [12].
• Punjab alone had nearly half of these cases [12].

• Compare this with CAQM's ~92% reduction claim [5]. That claim is measured against 2021, a very high base year. It does not mean the problem is solved.

• What the BKS gets right

• Penalising only farmers is unfair when transport is the biggest local source [13].
• Burning in Punjab is not a choice made freely. The short gap between the paddy harvest and wheat sowing pushes farmers into it [1].
• Honest conclusion: "stop penalising farmers" is a strong argument for sharing the burden fairly across all sources. It is a weak argument for ignoring stubble altogether.

10. Why the Market for Straw Has Not Arrived Yet

• Plants are ordered to use straw, but they have been slow to do it
• CAQM ordered 11 thermal plants around Delhi to co-fire biomass pellets [17]. Co-firing means burning pellets made from crop waste together with coal.

• By March 2022, co-firing had started in only 7 of the 11 plants [8].

• Demand is there. Supply is the bottleneck

• Power plants want pellets, but supply is limited because aggregators and suppliers are growing slowly [10]. Aggregators are the middlemen who collect straw from many small farms, bale it and transport it.
• The 15 sanctioned pelletisation plants can make 2.07 lakh tonnes a year and will use about 2.70 lakh tonnes of paddy straw [9].

• If the full government support fund were used, over 1 million tonnes of pellets could be made each year [11]. So actual capacity is a small fraction of what is possible.

• Why this connects to penalties

• A farmer will sell straw instead of burning it only if someone actually comes to collect it within the few weeks before wheat sowing.

• Until collection reaches the farm gate, a fine punishes the farmer for a market that the State has not yet built.

• There is room to raise demand

• NTPC trials found that plants can co-fire 5–10% pellets without changing their boilers [17].
• The current mandate is the lower end of that range: ≥5% [9].

11. What Each Agency Should Do Next

• Ministry of Power and CAQM: make co-firing compulsory in practice, not just on paper
• Track each plant's actual pellet use, not just whether it has floated tenders. Only 7 of 11 plants had started by 2022 [8].

• Consider moving the mandate towards 10%, since NTPC trials show plants can handle it [17].

• MoEFCC and CPCB: scale up the pelletisation support scheme

• There are guidelines for financial support to set up paddy-straw pelletisation and torrefaction plants [16]. Torrefaction means roasting biomass so it burns more like coal.

• Current capacity is 2.07 lakh tonnes, against a potential of over 1 million tonnes [9][11]. That gap is the main lever behind the SC's suggested "procurement mechanism".

• State governments: put collection before penalties

• Use the CAQM farm mapping and nodal officers [3] to link each farm cluster to a baler or aggregator before the harvest.

• Use environmental compensation (fines) only where a collection option was really available and the farmer still chose to burn.

• Delhi and NCR cities: act on the bigger local source

• Transport is the largest local source of PM2.5 [13]. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is the tool meant for city sources like this.
• This answers the BKS charge of "repeatedly blaming farmers" [1] in the most credible way.

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: Stubble caused 14.29% of Delhi's PM2.5 before Diwali 2026, against 33.06% from local sources. Transport was the largest local source [13]
• Data: Stubble is about 4% of PM2.5 as a yearly average but about 13–17% in the burning season [15]
• Data: There were 3,316 paddy stubble fires in seven States (15 Sep–1 Nov 2026), 26.63% fewer than last year. Punjab had nearly half [12]
• Data: Co-firing had started in only 7 of 11 NCR thermal plants by March 2022 [8]. Pellet capacity is 2.07 lakh tonnes a year, against a potential of over 1 million tonnes [9][11]
• Law/Case: CAQM Act, 2021 (environmental compensation). SC Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Nov 2026 [1]
• Scheme: MoEFCC/CPCB financial support guidelines for paddy-straw pelletisation and torrefaction plants: the supply side of ex-situ management [16]
• Scheme: Ministry of Power model contract (≥50% straw for plants within 300 km of NCR) and CAQM's ≥5% co-firing mandate [2][9]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Environmental pollution and degradation; agricultural residue and farm mechanisation; infrastructure (energy/biomass).
• GS-II: Statutory bodies (CAQM); judicial activism and policy-making; Centre–State coordination.
• GS-IV (optional): Fairness in distributing the costs of the environmental burden.
• Question stems: 1. "Stubble burning is a symptom of a cropping-pattern problem, not a farmer-behaviour problem." Critically examine in light of recent judicial observations on Delhi-NCR air pollution. 2. Assess how far ex-situ crop residue management (biomass co-firing, straw procurement) can replace punitive measures in fighting stubble burning. 3. Evaluate CAQM's effectiveness in coordinating multi-State action on air quality in the NCR.

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• CAQM Act, 2021 and environmental compensation: the legal basis for penalising farmers.
• Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP): the staged response to air quality in the NCR, which CAQM revised and ratified [7].
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): covers city sources such as vehicles, industry and dust.
• Paddy–wheat monoculture and groundwater laws (e.g. Punjab's delayed-transplantation law): the root cause of the short window between harvest and sowing.
• Biomass co-firing / SAMARTH mission: how ex-situ residue gets used.
• Crop diversification and MSP policy: paddy procurement incentives that keep the cropping cycle in place.
• Air Quality Index (AQI) and PM2.5 source apportionment: the scientific basis for the SC's "multiple sources" view.

15. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Stubble burning (Geography): The core issue: farmers burning paddy and wheat residue, and whether penalising them is fair or effective.
• Commission for Air Quality Management (Geography): The statutory body issuing directions, prosecution powers and the Parali Protection Force to curb stubble burning across States.
• Environmental compensation (Economy): The money penalty imposed on farmers for burning, which the farmers' body wants stopped.
• Air pollution (Economy): The SC stressed vehicles and industry alongside stubble burning as sources of Delhi-NCR's pollution.
• Source apportionment (Geography): The scientific method of finding each source's share of pollution, underpinning the court's 'multiple sources' view.
• Graded Response Action Plan (Geography): The staged emergency measures for Delhi-NCR air quality that CAQM enforces and has revised.
• Farm mechanisation (Economy): Subsidised machines and custom hiring centres are the main in-situ tool to manage residue without burning.
• Small and marginal farmers (Economy): Penalties and machinery costs hit these farmers hardest, which is the equity argument against punishing them.
• Procurement (Economy): The SC suggested a procurement mechanism for crop residue, which echoes how government buys foodgrains to give produce a price.
• Cropping pattern (Economy): The paddy-wheat cycle leaves a short gap between harvest and sowing, which is the root cause of burning.
• Crop diversification (Economy): Moving away from paddy-wheat monoculture is a long-term fix that reduces the residue problem.
• Judicial activism (Polity): The Supreme Court is shaping pollution policy through its observations and suggestions, a pattern of judicial policy-making.
• Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (Geography): EPCA was the earlier court-appointed body that CAQM replaced, a likely trap in the exam.
• Central Pollution Control Board (Polity): Often confused with CAQM; knowing its separate role avoids attributing the stubble directions to the wrong body.
• National Clean Air Programme (Geography): The national programme targeting city sources such as vehicles, industry and dust, which the court highlighted.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• BKS ≠ BKU: the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (RSS-affiliated) is not the Bharatiya Kisan Union [1].
• CAQM ≠ CPCB ≠ EPCA: CAQM is the NCR-specific statutory commission and replaced the earlier EPCA arrangement. Do not attribute the stubble directions to CPCB.
• "Elimination" vs "reduction": the 92% figure is a reduction measured against 2021. CAQM's 2026 directions aim at elimination [3][5].
• Wheat vs paddy stubble: the Feb 2026 direction covers wheat stubble (summer), not the autumn paddy season [3].
• Thresholds: 50% straw applies to thermal plants within 300 km. 5% pellet co-firing applies to coal plants in NCR. Do not swap them [2].