Stubble burning: Addressing north India’s burning issue sustainably

Source: The post is based on the article “Addressing north India’s burning issue sustainably” published in The Hindu on 21st October 2022. 

Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment 

Relevance: Ways to address the issue of stubble burning 

News: Stubble burning is a major problem in North India and every year it is in the news around winter.  

The government generally comes up with short-term solutions and farmers are mostly held responsible for the stubble burning causing low-quality air in North India. 

However, it is not suitable to blame farmers for the action as stubble burning has a historic reason behind it. 

What were the reasons that caused the stubble burning? 

The green revolution was one of the main reasons behind stubble burning. It was introduced in the 1960s-70s to fulfil the food demand of the growing population. It transformed the way agriculture was practised, especially in Punjab and Haryana. 

Under the green revolution, high-yielding seeds of wheat and paddy were given to farmers with the support of a guaranteed buyer (the government) and minimum support prices. This led to two crops (wheat and paddy) dominance in the market. 

However, these two crops depleted the groundwater of the region, increased the use of pesticides and fertilizers. It also led to the consolidation of small farms into larger landholdings. 

Therefore, the Punjab and Haryana governments introduced laws to conserve groundwater. The government encouraged farmers to look to the monsoon rather than groundwater to irrigate their crops. 

The wait for the monsoon water provided a shorter period between harvesting kharif crops and sowing rabi crops. Due to the shorter period, farmers prefer to burn the stubble and clear the fields for the rabi crops. 

The effect of stubble burning is felt throughout the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) including Bihar and West Bengal. 

It has severe effects on the air quality of the NCR which has caused the government to criminalize the act.  

Moreover, the government has also taken various other steps to tackle the issue. 

What are the steps taken by the government? 

The Union and State governments have taken various short-term ex-situ and in-situ solutions. 

In-situ solutions include happy seeders and bio-decomposers while the ex-situ solutions include collecting and using stubble to produce ethanol or to simply burn in thermal power plants. 

However, these solutions are not very effective in improving the situation. 

What can be the possible solution to tackle stubble burning? 

First, the entire value chain of agriculture in the region needs to change in the region of Punjab and Haryana. 

• This means that the amount of paddy grown should be reduced and replaced by other crops that are agro-ecologically suitable such as cotton, maize, pulses and oil seeds.  

Second, there is a need to build trust with farmers and to ensure that they are seen as partners and they should be provided necessary solutions like financial support to shift from paddy to other corps. 

Third, the government should come up with a policy that aims at sustainable development and include all aspects such as agriculture, nutrition, water, environment and economy as they all are interconnected.