Stubble burning, a recurring environmental issue in the agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana, has taken an unusual turn this year, with an early start to the practice, as per data from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). While stubble burning is an annual concern, this year’s early onset has raised questions and concerns.
NASA’s data from September 20 to October 4, 2023, revealed over 2,000 fire spots in the region, although not all of them were attributed to stubble burning. Traditionally, stubble clearance in these states begins around mid-October and peaks during Diwali, coinciding with the Kharif harvesting season.
Apart from Punjab and Haryana, Odisha and Jharkhand were also identified as hotspots for fire activities by NASA’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. However, in Odisha and Jharkhand, the fires were related to mineral extraction activities rather than stubble burning.
Comparing the data for the same period with the previous year, it was evident that stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana had increased significantly. Punjab reported over 550 stubble fires, representing a rise of more than 40 percent compared to the previous year. In Haryana, the increase was even more dramatic, with over 200 stubble fires this year, compared to just 50 the previous year.
Farmers in Amritsar, Punjab, one of the prominent stubble fire hotspots, provided insights into the reasons behind the early start to stubble clearance in 2023. Gurbachan Singh mentioned that the early clearance was a response to the extreme rains the state experienced at the end of September. Due to losses in paddy crops caused by flooding triggered by heavy rain, farmers sought a longer window between the Kharif and Rabi seasons to grow vegetables. This shift to vegetable cultivation before the Rabi season commences after Diwali aims to mitigate their losses.
The Amritsar-Tarn Taran region is renowned for vegetable production, and the recent floods in September led to paddy crop losses, prompting farmers to explore alternative crops such as vegetables.
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) confirmed that the satellite-detected fire hotspots were indeed related to stubble clearance activities. Krunesh Garg, the chief environmental engineer at PPCB, acknowledged the early fire incidents primarily in the Amritsar and Tarn Taran regions.
In Haryana, Kurukshetra emerged as the primary stubble burning hotspot, with nearly 40 instances of the practice recorded. Sahab Singh, a farmer from Kurukshetra, attributed the early stubble clearance to waterlogged fields resulting from heavy September rains. Some fields remained waterlogged, leaving no opportunity for stubble clearance. Farmers who had sowed short-duration paddy crops of 85 days might have opted to clear their fields early to transition to vegetable cultivation before the Rabi season.
Virender Singh Lather, a principal scientist with the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, noted that the governments of Haryana and Punjab have been encouraging the use of direct sowing paddy technology with short-duration paddy varieties (e.g., PR-126) to conserve groundwater. These short-duration varieties ripen by September, unlike the usual October harvest period for paddy. This shift in paddy varieties, along with extreme rainfall, may have contributed to the early start of stubble burning by many farmers in these states.
The early onset of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, driven by a combination of extreme weather events and shifts in agricultural practices, underscores the complex challenges faced by farmers in these agrarian states. Addressing stubble burning requires a multifaceted approach that considers the economic and environmental factors influencing agricultural decisions.