Why has Madhya Pradesh burnt more paddy stubble for the second year in a row?
Table of Contents
Source: Down To Earth
Relevance: GS-III (Agriculture, Environment)
Key Concepts for Prelims and Mains:
For Prelims:
Stubble Burning • Crop Residue • Paddy–Wheat Cropping System • Sheopur District • Pusa Decomposer (IARI) • -SMS • Methane (CH₄) • • Environment Protection Act 1986 • MSP System • In-situ & Ex-situ Residue Management
For Mains:
- Climate-driven agricultural transitions • Mono-cropping due to MSP • Market distortions & Arhtiya system • Compressed crop calendars • Lack of affordable residue-management alternatives • Environmental governance failures • Air pollution and soil degradation impacts
Why in News?
Madhya Pradesh has recorded a sharp rise in paddy stubble-burning in 2025—nearly three times higher than Punjab—driven largely by a rapid shift toward paddy cultivation due to changing rainfall patterns and extreme monsoon events.
Why Is Stubble Burning Increasing in Madhya Pradesh?
1. Rapid Shift Toward Paddy Cultivation
- Farmers in districts like Sheopur, Datia, Hoshangabad, and others are moving quickly from soybean and black gram to paddy.
- Key reasons for this shift include:
- More assured and stable income from paddy.
- Better tolerance to erratic rainfall compared to soybean/urad.
What is Stubble Burning?
Stubble burning refers to the practice of setting fire to crop residue—mainly the straw left behind after harvesting paddy, wheat, and other cereals.
Emits harmful pollutants such as:
- Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Methane (CH₄)
- Particulate Matter (PM₂.₅)
- Mandi trends showing growing preference and higher arrivals of paddy.
2. Rise in Extreme Rainfall Events
- Madhya Pradesh districts are receiving higher-than-normal monsoon rainfall in recent years.
- Heavy rains frequently damage soybean and black gram, making them unreliable.
- Paddy thrives in waterlogged or high-rainfall conditions, making it a safer choice.
- Climate-driven crop changes have increased total stubble volume dramatically.
3. Very Short Turnaround Time Between Crops
- Farmers get only a limited window between harvesting paddy and sowing wheat.
- Challenges faced during this period:
- Hard soil that is difficult to prepare manually.
- Lack of affordable residue-management machinery.
- High labour costs for manual clearing.
- Burning becomes the only quick and practical method to ready the field in time.
4. Expansion of Paddy Across the State
- The increase in paddy cultivation is widespread, not restricted to a few districts.
- Soybean and urad cultivation are steadily declining.
- As paddy acreage expands, stubble generation rises proportionately, increasing the frequency of fires across multiple districts.
5. Growing Environmental Risks
- Experts warn that continued paddy expansion may lead to:
- Severe groundwater depletion.
- Winter air pollution due to large-scale residue fires.
- Increased vulnerability from monoculture farming.
- Long-term degradation of soil fertility and structure.
- Madhya Pradesh could eventually face a crisis similar to Punjab if the trend continues.
Key Reasons for Persistence of Stubble Burning in India
1. Policy-Induced Mono-Cropping Patterns
- MSP-driven paddy–wheat system encourages farmers to grow rice despite ecological unsuitability.
- Assured procurement reduces the incentive to diversify into low-residue crops.
- Large volumes of paddy stubble accumulate, forcing farmers to clear fields quickly for the next sowing cycle.
2. Distorted Markets and Price Pressures
- Agricultural marketing remains dominated by middlemen (arhtias), who control prices, credit, and market linkages.
- Farmers often sell produce at artificially low prices, pushing them into chronic debt.
- RBI’s 2024 survey showed farmers receive only 40–67% of consumer prices for major rabi crops.
- Rising cultivation costs and stagnant MSPs make costlier residue-management techniques unaffordable.
3. Lack of Viable and Affordable Alternatives
- While burning is penalized, farmers are not provided with equally quick, cheap, and accessible alternatives.
- Subsidized machines (e.g., Super-SMS, Happy Seeder, Rotavator) remain costly despite financial support.
- Custom hiring centres are insufficient or poorly distributed, especially in remote districts.
- This forces farmers to choose the fastest and cheapest option—burning stubble.
4. Climate Stress and Uncertain Crop Calendars
- Irregular monsoons, delayed rains, and rising temperatures compress the window between harvesting and sowing.
- Late rainfall during October–November delays paddy harvesting, leaving barely 10–15 days for wheat sowing.
- Burning becomes a compulsion to avoid yield losses caused by delayed sowing.
5. Ineffective Large-Scale Implementation of Bio-Decomposers
- Eco-friendly solutions such as the Pusa Decomposer face low adoption due to:
- delayed field distribution,
- lack of farmer training,
- inconsistent decomposition results,
- poor last-mile extension support.
- As a result, bio-decomposers remain ineffective at scale despite policy promotion.
Government Measures to Reduce Stubble Burning
1. Central Government Initiatives
- Central Sector Scheme for In-Situ Crop Residue Management
Subsidies of 50% to farmers and 80% to cooperatives for machinery such as:
→ Happy Seeder, Super-SMS, Straw Chopper, Rotavators - ₹3,062 crore released between 2018–2023 to Punjab, Haryana, UP, Delhi.
- Pusa Decomposer (IARI):
• Bio-enzyme that decomposes stubble in 20–25 days
• Improves soil organic matter and reduces infestation
2. State Government Efforts
- Awareness and training programmes for eco-friendly residue management.
- Cash incentive proposals to discourage burning (e.g., Punjab).
- Non-fiscal measures: Long-term Panchayat land leases (up to 33 years) for straw storage and biomass utilisation.
Effects of Stubble Burning
1. Air Pollution
- Releases a range of harmful pollutants such as methane (CH₄), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
- These pollutants contribute to dense smog, undergo chemical transformation in the atmosphere, and significantly degrade air quality, posing serious health risks.
2. Decline in Soil Fertility
- Burning crop residue destroys essential soil nutrients and organic matter.
- It reduces soil productivity over time, impacting long-term agricultural sustainability.
3. Soil Heating and Microbial Loss
- The intense heat from fires penetrates the upper layers of soil, causing:
- Loss of soil moisture
- Death of beneficial microorganisms, earthworms, and fungi
- This weakens soil structure and affects natural nutrient recycling.
Right to Environment in the Indian Constitution
1. Pollution-Free Environment as a Fundamental Right
SC reiterated that environmental protection is part of Article 21; failure to prevent pollution violates fundamental rights.
2. Section 15 of EPA Is “Toothless”
The Court criticised the amended Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, as ineffective because:
- Rules haven’t been framed
- Adjudicating officers haven’t been appointed
This makes penalty enforcement impossible.
3. Weak Enforcement
Lack of an operational mechanism means environmental violations remain largely unpunished.
Conclusion
Madhya Pradesh’s rise in stubble burning is not a question of farmer intent—it is the outcome of a deeper transformation in cropping patterns, shaped by changing rainfall, economic pressures, and a shrinking crop cycle. With paddy cultivation rapidly replacing traditional crops and residue-management support still limited, burning remains the only feasible option for many farmers. Addressing this trend will require long-term interventions, including diversification, better residue-management infrastructure, and climate-resilient agricultural planning.
Supreme Court’s Key Observations
UPSC PYQ
Q. Consider the following agricultural practices: UPSC (2012)
- Contour bunding
- Relay cropping
- Zero tillage
In the context of global climate change, which of the above helps/help in carbon sequestration/storage in the soil?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None of them
Answer: (b)
CARE MCQ
Q. The Pusa Decomposer, recently used for large-scale straw management across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, has been developed by which of the following?
(a) Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) under ICAR
(b) Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
(c) Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
(d) National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE)
Correct Answer: (a) Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) under ICAR
