Stubble Burning In Punjab, Haryana Reduced By 50% This Year: Top Expert To NDTV

The stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana has reduced by 50 per cent this season as compared to last year, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Mangi Lal Jat, told NDTV.

According to the data compiled by the ICAR's Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS) laboratory, a total of 4,754 stubble burning incidents were recorded in Punjab and Haryana between September 15 and November 2 last year. This year, it has dropped to 2,384.

Jat, citing satellite data, said Punjab alone reported a 42 per cent drop in crop residue burning - from 3,916 incidents between September 15 and November 2 in 2024 to 2,262 this year. Haryana has also witnessed a significant drop in stubble burning - from 838 incidents between September 15 and November 2 last year to 122 this year, he said.

"This was possible due to the efforts of the government of India and the state government to encourage farmers to adopt alternative methods, and the strictness of the local police. In fact, if we analyse stubble burning incidents since 2020, another major change is clearly visible. Data showed that a total of 41,176 stubble burning incidents were recorded in Punjab between September 15 and November 2, 2020, which has reduced to 2,262 this year - a reduction by 94.5 per cent in the last five years," Jat said.

Punjab still the highest in stubble burning

While data shows Punjab has witnessed a massive reduction in crop residue burning, it is still the highest this year among five other states - Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi. According to the ICAR data, more than 1,000 incidents of stubble burning have been recorded in six states in the last few days.

On October 19, a day before Diwali, 153 incidents of crop residue burning fires were recorded in six states. On October 28, 50 incidents were recorded, 259 on October 31, 535 on November 1, and 230 on November 2. Punjab alone reported 224 incidents on October 31 and 442 the next day.

Between September 15 and November 2, 4,610 crop residue burning fire incidents have been recorded in six states, the data showed. Of these, Punjab recorded 2,262 stubble burning incidents, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 1,018, Rajasthan at 719, Madhya Pradesh at 486, Haryana at 122, and Delhi at 3.

On November 1, satellites detected 535 residue burnings in six states - 442 in Punjab, 19 in Haryana, 27 in Uttar Pradesh, 44 in Rajasthan, and 3 in Madhya Pradesh. On November 2, satellites detected 230 incidents in six states - 178 in Punjab, 4 in Haryana, 14 in UP, and 34 in Rajasthan.

The data comes amid the rising air pollution in Delhi - for which the BJP has blamed stubble burning in other states. The air quality index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 309 at 7 am today morning - in the 'very poor' category.