Why stubble fires keep coming back

1. At a Glance

• Stubble burning means setting fire to crop residue, the lower parts of plants left in the field after harvest. In India it mostly means burning paddy straw in Punjab and Haryana. [1]
• It peaks from early October to end-November across northwest India (Punjab, Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh). This is the same window in which the AQI in Delhi-NCR gets worse. [1]
• The fires keep returning because of legal, technological and economic factors working together: the paddy-wheat cycle, assured procurement, and a narrow window between crops. [1]
• UPSC relevance: it links agriculture policy (MSP, cropping pattern), environment (air pollution, soil health), federalism (Centre-States-CAQM) and governance (enforcement vs. incentives).

2. Why in the News

• 9 October 2026: an op-ed by C.S.C. Sekhar in The Hindu (p. 10) asks why stubble fires recur each season. It argues that a lasting fix needs stronger incentives for diversification, better residue management and more reliable measurement of burning. [1]
• In 2025, Punjab and Haryana together recorded a reduction of more than 90% in fire incidents during the paddy harvest season compared with the same period in 2022. [3]
• CAQM reviewed Punjab's and Haryana's preparedness before the 2025 paddy harvest season and the action they took during it. [2][3]

3. Background & Evolution

• Root cause: the paddy-wheat cycle in Punjab and Haryana, backed by assured procurement. After paddy is harvested, farmers have only a short window to sow wheat, so burning is the cheapest way to clear the field. [1]
• 2018-19: the Centre launched a Central Sector Scheme on Crop Residue Management (CRM). It supports Punjab, Haryana, UP and NCT of Delhi and subsidises machinery for managing residue. [4]
• 2021: the Centre and the States held parliamentary and policy reviews of "Measures to Reduce Pollution Due to Stubble Burning". [5]
• 2023: Punjab submitted a State Action Plan and district-wise action plans to CAQM for the paddy season. [6]
• 2024: a minister-level inter-ministerial meeting on crop residue burning was held. [7]
• 2025: CAQM held detailed review meetings with Punjab and Haryana before the season and reviewed their actions afterwards. [2][3]
• Not checked against the retrieved sources: CAQM was set up under the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021. The Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 (Haryana has a similar law) pushed paddy transplanting later in the year. That shortens the gap before wheat sowing; this is the "legal" factor in the paddy-wheat squeeze.

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Definition	Burning of crop residue, the lower plant parts left after harvest [1]
Season	Beginning of October to end of November [1]
Core geography	Punjab, Haryana, parts of UP (northwest India) [1]
Paddy straw produced	About 29 million metric tonnes in Punjab and Haryana combined [1]
Air pollutants released	Particulate matter, carbon monoxide, VOCs, other carcinogens that form smog [1]
Soil impact	Loss of N, S, potash (K), P and micronutrients; loss of soil moisture and organic content, which raises fertiliser use [1]
Central scheme	Central Sector Scheme on CRM, running since 2018-19 [4]
Scheme coverage	Punjab, Haryana, UP, NCT of Delhi [4]
CRM machines available	Punjab: 1,17,672; Haryana: 80,071 [3]
Regulator	CAQM, which directs in-situ and ex-situ residue management and the elimination of burning in hotspot districts [2][3]
2025 outcome	More than 90% fall in fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana compared with 2022 [3]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• Assured procurement of paddy and wheat locks farmers into the paddy-wheat cycle, so there is little pull towards other crops. [1]
• Burning is the lowest-cost option. Machine-based management needs subsidised machinery, which is the reason the CRM scheme exists. [4]
• Lost soil nutrients lead to higher fertiliser use, which is a hidden cost to the farmer and the fertiliser-subsidy bill. [1]

Environmental / Health

• PM, CO, VOCs and carcinogens add to the winter smog over North India and Delhi. [1]
• Lower soil fertility and moisture hurt long-term soil health and sustainability. [1]

Legal / Governance

• CAQM works through directions to the States, which are asked to use their entire administrative machinery. [2]
• Enforcement through State and District Action Plans shows the Centre setting the framework while States implement. [6]

Scientific / Technological

• In-situ management (incorporating residue into the soil) and ex-situ management (collecting straw for uses such as fuel) are both mandated. [3]
• Measuring burning reliably is still a gap. The author calls for better measurement, since fire counts may not capture all burning. [1]

Administrative / Federal

• The problem crosses State borders: the burning happens in Punjab and Haryana, and much of the pollution lands in Delhi-NCR. This needs coordination by CAQM and inter-ministerial meetings. [7]
• Large numbers of machines (about 1.98 lakh across the two States) do not guarantee they are used or reach small farmers in time. [3]

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 2025 season: CAQM held detailed preparedness reviews with Punjab and Haryana. [2]
• Post-2025 season: CAQM reviewed the action taken. Fire incidents were more than 90% lower than in 2022. [3]
• Parliament: the government answered questions on the major steps taken to discourage crop residue burning. [3]
• 9 October 2026: The Hindu op-ed on why the fires recur, at the start of the 2026 season. [1]

7. Prelims Hooks

• Stubble burning is mostly paddy straw, burned October to November. [1]
• Punjab and Haryana produce about 29 MMT of paddy straw. [1]
• Burning releases PM, CO and VOCs. [1]
• Burning depletes N, P, K, S and micronutrients and reduces soil moisture and organic content. [1]
• CRM scheme: a Central Sector scheme (not Centrally Sponsored), running since 2018-19. [4]
• CRM scheme States/UT: Punjab, Haryana, UP, NCT of Delhi. [4]
• CRM machines: Punjab 1,17,672; Haryana 80,071. [3]
• Fires in Punjab and Haryana fell by more than 90% in 2025 compared with 2022. [3]
• CAQM mandates in-situ and ex-situ residue management, focused on hotspot districts. [3]
• Punjab submits a State Action Plan plus district-wise plans to CAQM. [6]

8. Why a 90% Fall in Fire Counts Is Not a 90% Fall in Burning

• The 90% figure counts fires a satellite saw. It does not count all the straw that was burnt.
• A fire count is the number of hot spots a satellite picks up when it passes over a field.
• Clouds can hide fires from the satellite. In one season, cloud cover over parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand made it harder to detect residue burning [10].

• If farmers burn when the sky is cloudy, or at hours the satellite does not pass, the count goes down even though the burning has not.

• Weather can lower the count without any policy working

• Down To Earth reported a season in which floods cut the number of farm fires [12].
• A flooded or late harvest means fewer fires that year. That is luck, not a lasting change in what farmers do.

• So before praising a fall, ask: how much came from rain, floods or a late crop, and how much from machines and enforcement?

• Fewer fires did not give Delhi clean air

• In that same flood-hit season, Delhi's air still turned very bad after Diwali, even with fewer farm fires [12].

• Fire counts tell us about Punjab's fields. They do not tell us how much of Delhi's smog comes from stubble on a given day.

• Why it matters for your answer: the author asks for more reliable measurement of burning [1]. The reason is simple. If we only count fires, the system rewards hiding fires, not stopping them.

9. Machines Were Bought, but the Straw Still Burns

• The money is large, but money spent is not the same as straw managed
• From 2018-19 to 28 February 2025, the Centre released ₹3,698.45 crore under the CRM scheme [8].
• More than 3.23 lakh CRM machines were supplied to the States in that time [8].
• Yet CAQM itself asked the States to map every machine and check how well each one is used, especially by small and marginal farmers [9].

• If the regulator still has to ask where the machines are and who uses them, buying them did not solve the problem.

• The subsidy design suits big farmers more than small ones

• An individual farmer gets 50% of the machine's price. Cooperatives, FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) and panchayats get 80% to set up Custom Hiring Centres, or CHCs (shops that rent out farm machines) [8].
• A large farmer can pay the other 50% and own a machine. A small farmer cannot, so they must rent from a CHC.
• Every farmer in the village harvests in the same few weeks. The CHC's machines are booked by the time the small farmer's turn comes.

• When the wheat-sowing deadline is close, a matchstick is faster than waiting for a machine.

• A machine still costs money every time it runs

• The subsidy helps once, when the machine is bought. The farmer still pays for diesel, the operator and rent every season.
• Down To Earth reported Punjab farmers facing higher costs and holding off on managing stubble, with fires expected to rise [11].
• Burning is free. Unless the yearly running cost is covered too, the cheapest choice stays the same.

10. The Fires Are Spreading to States the Scheme Does Not Cover

• The CRM scheme covers only four places

• It covers Punjab, Haryana, UP and NCT of Delhi [4].

• Burning now shows up outside that core area

• In one season, Down To Earth's data placed Madhya Pradesh first in stubble fires, ahead of Punjab and UP [10].
• In another season, UP recorded more stubble fires than Punjab [13].

• A scheme drawn around Delhi's air reaches the States upwind of Delhi. It does not follow paddy-wheat farming as it spreads into other States.

• Paddy straw is not the only straw that burns

• In 2021, fire activity in the summer months was about three times the winter level [14]. Summer is the wheat-residue season.
• Policy attention, CAQM reviews and the news all focus on October-November, when Delhi's smog is at its peak.
• So the policy targets Delhi's smog season, not crop burning everywhere. The soil loss described in the note happens in summer too.

11. Should Farmers Be Punished? The Strongest Case, and Its Limits

• The case for strict penalties
• The State has spent thousands of crores and supplied more than 3 lakh machines [8]. People argue the farmer has no excuse left.
• Burning harms crores of people who get nothing from paddy farming. Polluters should pay, as in any other pollution case.

• The sharp fall from 2022 to 2025 came during a period of tighter CAQM directions and district-level enforcement [3][6]. Pressure seems to work.

• What is right about it

• Enforcement does change behaviour at the edges. A field watched by officials is less likely to be burnt.

• A farmer who owns a subsidised machine and still burns is hard to defend.

• Where it breaks down

• Fines punish the farmer for the result of a system built by the State. Assured procurement and the narrow window between crops push farmers to burn [1].
• Small farmers often cannot get a machine in time (see the previous section) [9]. Punishing them punishes them for being small.

• Fines push burning towards evenings and cloudy days, out of the satellite's view. The fire count falls but the smoke does not (see the first section) [10][12].

• Balanced position for Mains: penalties should apply only after the State can show that a machine, or a straw buyer, really was available to that farmer in time.

12. What Would Actually Break the Cycle

• Agriculture Ministry: pay for straw actually managed, not just machines bought
• Today's support is mostly paid once, when a machine is bought [8].
• CAQM's own call to map machine use [9] shows what should be measured: area actually cleared without fire, per CHC, per season.

• Linking future CRM money to proven use would reward CHCs that serve small farmers on time.

• CAQM and the States: measure burnt land, not just fire dots

• The author asks for more reliable measurement of burning [1].

• Reports from the area burnt, plus checks in the field, are harder to dodge by burning at night or on cloudy days than counts from one satellite pass.

• Centre: extend the CRM scheme to where the fires are moving

• Madhya Pradesh has topped the fire count in at least one season but is outside the scheme [4][10].

• Without this, success in Punjab may just move the burning somewhere else.

• Centre and Punjab-Haryana: make another crop pay as well as paddy

• Assured procurement of paddy and wheat holds the cycle in place [1].
• The author's lasting fix is stronger incentives for diversification [1]. That means assured buying or price support for crops such as maize or pulses, so leaving paddy does not mean leaving a guaranteed income.

• Less paddy area means less straw, a wider sowing window and less pressure on groundwater, all at once.

• Build a buyer for the straw

• Ex-situ use (taking straw out of the field for fuel or industry) is already mandated by CAQM [3].
• It works only if a power plant or bio-CNG unit nearby will buy the straw. Without a buyer, the farmer gains nothing from collecting it.

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: About 29 million tonnes of paddy straw are produced in Punjab and Haryana [1]
• Data: ₹3,698.45 crore released and 3.23 lakh+ CRM machines supplied, 2018-19 to Feb 2025 [8]
• Data: Fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana fell by more than 90% in 2025 compared with 2022, by fire count [3]
• Data: In 2021, summer fire activity was about 3 times the winter level [14]
• Report/Committee: CAQM's 2025 pre-season and post-season reviews of Punjab and Haryana [2][3]; CAQM's direction to map CRM machines and ensure small farmers can use them [9]
• Law/Case: Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021; Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 (later transplanting, which leaves a narrower window before wheat)
• Scheme: Central Sector Scheme on Crop Residue Management (since 2018-19): 50% subsidy to individual farmers, 80% to CHCs, FPOs and panchayats [8]; covers only Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi [4]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Environmental pollution and degradation; major crops and cropping patterns; MSP and procurement; farm subsidies; technology for farmers.
• GS-II: Centre-State relations; statutory bodies (CAQM); government policies and interventions.
• GS-IV (case-study angle): the farmer's livelihood set against public health in Delhi.
• Possible question stems: 1. "Stubble burning is less an environmental problem than a symptom of a distorted incentive structure in Indian agriculture." Discuss. 2. Despite subsidised machinery and statutory oversight, stubble fires recur every season. Analyse the legal, technological and economic factors, and suggest a lasting solution. 3. Evaluate in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management as alternatives to burning in northwest India.

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• MSP and procurement policy: assured procurement keeps the paddy-wheat cycle in place.
• Crop diversification in Punjab and Haryana: the main long-term fix. [1]
• CAQM Act, 2021, and GRAP: the regulatory framework for NCR air quality.
• Groundwater depletion and the subsoil water laws: the reason sowing windows are narrow.
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): urban air-quality targets.
• Bio-decomposers, bio-CNG and biomass co-firing in thermal plants: ex-situ and in-situ uses for straw.
• Soil Health Card and fertiliser subsidy: connects to nutrient loss from burning.

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Stubble burning (Geography): The core topic: why paddy straw is burned in Punjab and Haryana, and what alternatives exist.
• Procurement (Economy): Assured government buying of paddy and wheat locks farmers into the paddy-wheat cycle that drives burning.
• Minimum support price (Economy): MSP assurance on paddy and wheat reduces the incentive to shift to other crops.
• Crop diversification (Economy): The article names stronger incentives for diversification as the lasting fix for recurring fires.
• Commission for Air Quality Management (Geography): CAQM is the statutory body directing Punjab and Haryana on residue management and reviewing their action.
• Groundwater depletion (Geography): Punjab and Haryana's falling water tables led to later paddy transplanting, which narrows the gap before wheat sowing.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• The CRM scheme is a Central Sector scheme, fully funded by the Centre. It is not Centrally Sponsored. [4]
• The CRM scheme started in 2018-19, which is earlier than CAQM (2021). Don't reverse the order. [4]
• CRM covers Delhi (NCT) as well as Punjab, Haryana and UP. [4]
• The >90% reduction is measured against 2022, not against the previous year. [3]
• Fire-count data may understate burning (for example, when fields are burned at times satellites miss). Lower counts are not proof that burning has stopped. [1]