In a remarkable environmental achievement, Punjab and Haryana have reported a dramatic drop in crop-burning incidents. The states witnessed over a 90% reduction in such incidences during the 2025 paddy-harvesting season compared to 2022, as stated by the Union Minister of State for Environment, Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a Lok Sabha session.
The large-scale decrease in fire occurrences is attributed to government-led initiatives that monitor crop residue burning through satellite technology. The Standard Protocol for Estimation of Crop Residue Burning Fire Events developed by the CREAMS Laboratory under ICAR has been pivotal in this monitoring process.
The government has actively facilitated farmers with alternative measures like in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management to tackle air pollution issues. These measures have greatly reduced the need for burning and subsequently improved the Air Quality Index in north India, particularly during winter months when pollution levels typically spike.
(With inputs from agencies.)