Punjab stubble fires hit 510 as Centre pushes paddy straw sales

Punjab recorded 510 incidents of paddy stubble burning this season up to October 22, 2026, according to a report of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, and environmental compensation, a fine for burning, has been imposed in 184 of them. Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts account for most of the fires. On the same day, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, speaking to farmers in Haryana's Karnal district, urged them to stop burning stubble and said crop residue can be sold for Rs 200 to Rs 250 a quintal if it is collected properly.

Every October, after the paddy harvest, farmers in Punjab and Haryana have a short window, often only two or three weeks, to clear their fields and sow wheat. Setting the leftover straw on fire is the quickest and cheapest way to do it. But the smoke adds to the air pollution that covers north India, including Delhi, in late October and November, and the fires burn nutrients and useful soil organisms along with the straw.

The government's approach has two parts: penalties for burning, and an effort to turn straw into something farmers can sell. The Punjab figures show the penalty side. Fines have been imposed in 184 of 510 cases, but the amounts are small, Rs 9.30 lakh in total, and only about half has been collected. Chouhan's remarks show the other side: the claim that straw is a product with a market price, not waste.

Whether that price is real for a farmer depends on local demand. Straw bundled into bales can be used by biomass power plants, compressed biogas plants, paper and packaging units, and as cattle fodder. Where such buyers are nearby, a farmer can earn money and save the cost of clearing the field. Where they are not, the cost of hiring cutters, rakes and balers, and of moving bulky bales, can wipe out the gain. That is why the spread of fires is uneven: two border districts, Tarn Taran and Amritsar, account for most of this season's cases so far.

For the rural economy, a working straw market is a business opportunity in itself. Baler operators, machinery-hire centres, transporters and the units that buy straw all create local jobs and income, often through farmer cooperatives and small rural enterprises.

Short-term: The number of fires usually rises sharply in the last week of October and the first half of November, when most of the paddy is cut. Officials will be watching Tarn Taran and Amritsar closely, and more fines are likely as inspections continue.

Long-term: Stubble burning will only fall for good if selling or reusing straw becomes cheaper and easier for a farmer than burning it. That needs more balers and storage near villages, and more plants that buy straw at a steady price.

Who is affected: Paddy farmers in Punjab and Haryana, who face fines and pressure to change methods; small businesses that hire out machinery or buy straw; and millions of people in north India whose air quality worsens in this season.

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