Issues of paddy stubble burning in Haryana: a policy perspective

Paddy stubble is useful in countless ways, but burning it is a nuisance in north-west India, especially Haryana. This study ascertains its scale and underlying causes and the existing conditions of different in situ and ex situ utilization and management practices adopted. It charts the reasons for the insignificant acceptance of such techniques, maps its trade and looks for a remedy from the perspective of all the participants. Despite underestimation and a minor decline, the area burnt over the last five years still covered a quarter of the total cultivated space. The burning took place to a similar proportional extent irrespective of variety cultivated and landholding as long as it was harvested mechanically. Several factors obligated most of the respondents to burn the stubble in situ: the decline of groundwater levels, leading to the enactment of preservation law of the same and affecting the time window between the predominant paddy-wheat cropping system; the diminishing agricultural labour force coupled with increased harvesting prices; and the inherent limitations of the ubiquitous combine harvesting technology Even though small in scale, the mapped contemporary marketing chain might be useful for businesses.