In Punjab, incidents of paddy stubble burning have significantly reduced by 85 per cent in the year 2024 compared to 2021. This sharp decline has been gradually achieved due to a combination of stricter enforcement, access to machinery for crop residue management and some new policy interventions. The number of stubble burning cases recorded in Punjab in 2021 was 71,304,which has been reduced to 10,909 cases in the year 2024.

This information was given by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply to Member Parliament from Haryana, Kumari Selja, in Lok Sabha, yesterday.

At the same time, the Minister also informed that the stubble burning by farmers is not the main reason for air pollution in National Capital Region (NCR). He said it is the result of multiple factors, including vehicular emissions, industrial pollution, dust from construction and demolition activities, road dust, biomass burning and municipal solid waste burning. However, he said that incidences of paddy stubble burning in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, NCR districts of UP and other areas in NCR are a matter of concern and impact the air quality in the NCR, particularly in the period during October and November.

Meanwhile, Haryana with 1,406 cases of stubble burning has recorded a drop of nearly 80% cases in the year 2024 as compared to the year 2021 when the number of such cases was 6,987.

Sh. Singh said the government has implemented a range of measures over recent years in addition to subsidise machinery for in-situ management of paddy straw to check and control air pollution from stubble burning.