The Lift Line
“Penal provisions are unlikely to be useful as there can be perverse incentives for collusion between farmers and officials, which may lead to ‘showing’ a reduction, rather than an actual reduction.” (C.S.C. Sekhar, The Hindu)
Why This Editorial Matters for Your Exam
This piece ran on The Hindu’s Text & Context page on 9 October 2026. It is an explainer by C.S.C. Sekhar, professor of economics at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University, rather than an editorial of the paper. It arrives as the paddy harvest begins in Punjab and Haryana and as Delhi’s air quality returns to the headlines.
Its value for an aspirant is the method. Most answers on stubble burning list machines and fines. Sekhar instead traces the fires to three causes that work together: a groundwater law that changed the crop calendar, a procurement and power regime that rewards paddy, and machines that are too costly for many farmers. He then asks whether the reported fall in fires is real, which opens a fourth topic: how satellites measure burning.
GS Paper 3: cropping patterns and irrigation; farm subsidies, minimum support prices and public procurement; environmental pollution and degradation; space technology applications. Essay: the unintended consequences of well-meant policy.
New to this topic? Start here: the basics in plain words (revision card 1 of 8)
Background and Context
What stubble burning is
Stubble burning is setting fire to the crop residue left in the field after harvest. Sekhar notes that it runs from the beginning of October to the end of November across north-west India, especially Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, and centres on paddy straw: the two States together produce around 29 million metric tons of it. The smoke carries particulate matter, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds; the heat strips the soil of nitrogen, sulphur, potash, phosphorus and moisture, so farmers use more fertiliser on the next crop.
How a groundwater law changed the timing
As background, the timeline below is as Sekhar gives it.
| Period | What Sekhar reports |
|---|---|
| Late 1970s and early 1980s | Burning begins in Punjab, largely after combine harvesters arrive |
| 1999 to 2009 | Punjab’s groundwater level falls by about 0.36 metres a year |
| 2002 to 2008 | Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan lose 109 cubic kilometres of groundwater (a NASA GRACE satellite study published in 2009) |
| 2009 | The Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act (PPSSWA) is enacted in 2009: no paddy sowing before 10 May, no transplanting before 10 June; officers may destroy non-compliant paddy and levy Rs 10,000 per hectare for every month of contravention |
| 2012 | About 73% of Punjab’s cropped area is irrigated with groundwater; a deficit of 14.31 billion cubic metres |
The Act’s stated aim was to slow groundwater depletion by holding paddy sowing and transplanting until the monsoon arrived. Its side effect, Sekhar argues, was to push the harvest into late October and early November, so that burning now coincides with north India’s winter months.
This season’s enforcement
The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has, through the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), deployed flying squads in 34 districts, 18 in Punjab and 16 in Haryana, for the 2026 paddy harvest, from the start of October to the end of November 2026 (PIB). The squads coordinate with farmers, the Parali Protection Force, district authorities and the State Pollution Control Boards. Sekhar’s figures for the 2025 season were 31 squads across 18 districts of Punjab and 13 of Haryana. See our roundup item on the 2026 squads and the deep dive on the revised GRAP.
The Analysis
1. The practice is old; its timing is new. Farmers in Punjab have burnt stubble since the late 1970s and early 1980s, Sekhar notes. What changed is when they burn: after the 2009 Act, the harvest moved into north India’s winter months.
2. A water law with an air cost. By delaying transplanting to the monsoon, the PPSSWA left farmers a “narrow 10-15-day window” between the paddy harvest and wheat sowing. Long-duration varieties made it worse: PUSA-44, which yields more, takes 150-160 days. Combine harvesters leave about a foot of stubble, and clearing it by hand is slow and expensive. Together, Sekhar writes, these made burning “almost a necessity”.
3. Why farmers stay with paddy and wheat. The answer, he argues, lies in incentives. Between 2012 and 2024, paddy procurement averaged about 37% of production nationally but 87% in Punjab and 74% in Haryana. For wheat the figures were 30%, 70% and 63%. Because the national averages include these two States, the true gap is wider still. Add free power in Punjab and almost free power in Haryana, and a water-hungry rotation stays the safest bet.
4. The technology exists but is costly. Sekhar sorts the fixes into two kinds:
| In-situ (in the field) | Ex-situ (off the field) |
|---|---|
| Crop residue management (CRM) machines: Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Rotavator | Straw as fuel for bio-ethanol |
| Short-duration rice varieties | Straw as feedstock for compressed biogas (CBG) |
| Direct seeding of rice (DSR) |
The seeders need an expensive 60 HP tractor that sits idle most of the year; hiring one costs a farmer about Rs 10,000 and means a long wait. Ex-situ measures cost Rs 1,500-2,500 per acre.
5. The stick. Sekhar records that the National Green Tribunal ruled in 2018 that farmers who burn stubble could be excluded from minimum support price (MSP) procurement. He writes that the Supreme Court upheld this view in 2023; in fact the Court only suggested excluding burners from MSP, at a hearing in November 2023, and gave no ruling upholding the NGT. In the 2025 season, 10,500 field functionaries in Punjab and 10,000 in Haryana backed the CPCB’s squads, and CAQM directed that complaints be filed in court against officials who failed to monitor.
6. The carrot. A Parliamentary Committee on air quality, Sekhar notes, advised that penalising farmers should be the last resort and recommended a minimum price for stubble sold for ex-situ use. Haryana followed this line, paying Rs 1,000 an acre for CRM use, Rs 4,000 an acre for direct seeding of rice and Rs 7,000 an acre for diversification, plus rewards for panchayats. Punjab relied mainly on in-situ machinery; CAQM observed in 2025 that much remains to be done there on machinery, support for CBG plants and enforcement.
7. Is burning really down 90%? Punjab and Haryana are reported, in a Lok Sabha reply (starred question No. 18) in December 2025, to have cut burning incidents by 90% in 2025 compared with 2022. Sekhar urges caution.
8. The measurement problem. The CREAMS protocol counts fires from NASA’s MODIS and VIIRS sensors on polar-orbiting satellites, which pass over India only between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm and see only active fires. Two findings he cites point the other way:
- A 2025 report of the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology, using several satellites to measure burnt area, found a fall of only around 30%.
- A Current Science study of November 2025, led by ISRO scientists using geostationary observations, found farmers burning in the evening to avoid the polar satellites. It suggested using both kinds of data.
9. Sekhar’s prescription. Mix short-term in-situ and ex-situ measures with medium- and long-term diversification away from paddy; improve how burning is measured; and do not rely on penalties, which can produce a reduction on paper rather than in the air.
Data and Institutions Vault
Prelims-grade facts:
- PPSSWA: the Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act, enacted in 2009 as a groundwater law.
- PPSSWA, as Sekhar describes it: bars paddy sowing before 10 May and transplanting before 10 June.
- CAQM: the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas.
- CAQM flying squads, 2026 harvest: in 34 districts (18 in Punjab, 16 in Haryana), deployed through the CPCB (PIB).
- CREAMS: Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space.
- CREAMS stubble-fire protocol: uses NASA’s MODIS and VIIRS sensors on polar-orbiting satellites.
- Polar satellites: see India only at fixed times (10:30 am to 1:30 pm, per Sekhar).
- Geostationary observation: in the ISRO-led study, it caught evening burning.
- In-situ residue management: Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, Rotavator; short-duration varieties; direct seeding of rice. Ex-situ: bio-ethanol, compressed biogas.
- PUSA-44: a high-yielding, long-duration paddy variety (150-160 days, per Sekhar).
- Procurement share, 2012-2024 average (Sekhar): paddy 87% in Punjab, 74% in Haryana, about 37% in India; wheat 70%, 63% and 30%.
- NASA GRACE study (Sekhar): Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan lost 109 cubic kilometres of groundwater over 2002-2008.
⚠️ Watch the trap: The PPSSWA is a groundwater law, not an air-pollution law: it changed when farmers burn, by pushing the harvest into winter. And CREAMS counts active fires seen by polar satellites at fixed hours, not the area burnt, so a fall in fire counts is not proof of a fall in burning.
The Debate
Sekhar’s case. Stubble burning is a rational response to the rules farmers face. The law shortened the window, procurement and free power fixed the crop choice, and the machines that could replace the match are costly. Fines treat the symptom, and they create a shared interest between farmers and officials in under-reporting. Change the incentives, help with residue, and measure honestly.
The other side. Delhi’s winter smog harms health now and cannot wait for a slow shift away from paddy, and deterrence has a place: the NGT held that burners could lose MSP benefits, and the Supreme Court floated the same idea in November 2023. Incentives cost money and can reward the very farmers who would otherwise have burnt. Diversification also asks farmers to give up assured procurement for crops with thinner markets.
The balanced verdict. Enforcement can hold the line for a season; it cannot change a cropping pattern. The durable answer is the one Sekhar outlines: pay for residue management and for a gradual move away from paddy, and judge the results with data that cannot be dodged by burning after dark.
How to Think About This
Use a “law, technology, incentive” triangle. For any persistent problem, ask what the law makes farmers do (here, transplant late), what technology lets them do (here, combines that leave stubble, and costly seeders), and what the market rewards (here, assured procurement and free power). When all three point the same way, fines alone fail. Then add a fourth question, “how do we know?”: a policy claimed as a success is only as good as the measurement behind it.
Diagram-in-Words
Why stubble fires keep coming back: Sekhar’s argument
Law, incentives and technology push farmers towards the match; the measured fall in fires may overstate the real fall.
Takeaway Box
- Core idea: stubble burning persists because a groundwater law, procurement incentives and costly machines push the same way, Sekhar argues.
- Know the anchors: PPSSWA (enacted in 2009); CAQM and its 2026 flying squads in 34 districts; in-situ vs ex-situ residue management; CREAMS, MODIS and VIIRS; polar vs geostationary satellites.
- Know the numbers (Sekhar’s): 29 million tonnes of straw; procurement 87% (Punjab) and 74% (Haryana) against about 37% nationally; a reported 90% fall in fires against about 30% by burnt area.
- Mains use: GS3 cropping patterns, MSP and procurement, pollution, and space applications; essay on the unintended consequences of policy.
Revision Cards
UjiyariThe three causes: card 3 →UjiyariStick, carrot and measurement: card 4 →UjiyariThe static base: card 5 →UjiyariTest yourself on card 6 →Show answer
Show answer
Show answer
UjiyariWatch the trap: card 7 →R1How long does PUSA-44 take to mature, per Sekhar?
R2Through which body has CAQM deployed the 2026 flying squads?
R3What did the ISRO-led study find?
UjiyariWrite the Mains answer on card 8 →UjiyariNow take today’s quiz →Sources: The Hindu, Text & Context, “Why stubble fires keep coming back” by C.S.C. Sekhar, 9 October 2026 (print edition); PIB, CAQM intensifies field-level monitoring with deployment of Flying Squads, October 2026.
Source: Why Stubble Fires Keep Coming Back: PPSSWA, MSP, Satellites — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Editorial Analysis
