The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Punjab and Haryana have collectively recorded a reduction of more than 90 per cent in the number of fire incidences during the paddy-harvesting season in 2025, compared to the same period in 2022, the government informed Parliament on Monday.
The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
“Burning of crop leftovers is recognized as a major contributor to deteriorating the Air Quality Index in northern India during winter after harvesting the previous crop for planting the next one,” Singh stated.
He notified the House that ongoing fire incidents caused by crop-residue burning are tracked through satellite remote sensing, adhering to the “Standard Protocol for Estimation of Crop Residue Burning Fire Events using Satellite Data by Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) Laboratory, Division of Agricultural Physics, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) — Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.”
The government has consistently evaluated and tracked the measures implemented to tackle air pollution, including issues related to stubble burning in Delhi-NCR and nearby regions.
The minister stated, “Through collaborative efforts, the states of Punjab and Haryana have jointly achieved over a 90 per cent decrease in fire incidents during the paddy harvesting season in 2025 compared to the same timeframe in 2022.”
“Farmers are provided with alternative strategies such as in-situ management of crop residues and ex-situ uses of paddy straw in different applications. The in-situ management of crop residues entails in-situ mulching and the incorporation of paddy residues directly in the field via effective and cost-efficient mechanized methods or machinery for crop residue management,” he stated.
