New Delhi, 1 December: Punjab and Haryana together recorded about 90 per cent fewer stubble-burning cases this paddy season than in 2022, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Replying to Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi’s question on air quality and stubble burning, Yadav said farm fires persist as an “episodic event” that intensifies winter pollution but are no longer the dominant factor driving Delhi’s smog. He said Delhi posted its best January–November average AQI in seven years, aside from the 2020 lockdown period.
Channi asked why Delhi’s air quality crossed the 450 mark despite Punjab reporting lower fire counts, and sought clarity on enforcement of CAQM directives and the availability of machinery for crop residue management.
Yadav said pollution in Delhi-NCR stems from several sources, including transport and industrial emissions, construction dust, municipal waste burning, landfill fires and changing meteorological conditions. “Stubble burning in Punjab and NCR adds to this as an episodic factor,” he said.
According to the written reply, Delhi has recorded 200 days of “good” air quality so far this year, compared with 110 in 2016. The number of “very poor” and “severe” days has fallen from 71 in 2024 to 50 in 2025.
The minister said Punjab and Haryana have received over ₹3,120 crore since 2018-19 to distribute crop residue machines. More than 2.6 lakh machines are now with farmers, while 33,800 have been provided to custom hiring centres. CAQM has instructed the two states to ensure rent-free access for small and marginal farmers.
Yadav said the commission has also required brick kilns outside NCR to use biomass pellets or briquettes made from paddy straw, with the mandatory share set to rise from 20 per cent this year to 50 per cent in 2028. Thermal power plants within 300 km of Delhi have been advised to co-fire biomass pellets up to 10 per cent with coal.
Thirty-one CPCB flying squads were deployed in hotspot districts of Punjab and Haryana from October to November to monitor enforcement. Yadav said the Centre is reviewing district-wise progress, machinery utilisation and supply-chain support for biomass use in power plants and pellet units.
