Chandigarh, October 24: Even as Delhi’s air once again sinks into toxic levels this season, a new debate has taken root over who is truly responsible for the capital’s choking skies. Fresh data from Punjab shows that incidents of stubble burning have plunged to record lows — yet political blame continues to point northward.
Between September 15 and October 21 this year, Punjab recorded just 415 cases of stubble burning, compared with 1,510 in 2024, 1,764 in 2023, and 3,114 in 2022. The figures mark a decline of over 75 percent in three years — the steepest drop in the past decade, according to government records. Officials attribute the progress to stricter monitoring, incentives for in-situ management, and cooperation from farmers.
But despite the remarkable improvement, Delhi leaders continue to single out Punjab’s farmers. Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa recently said Punjab’s burning fields were “responsible for Delhi’s suffocation.” His remarks have reignited a political row at a time when Delhi tops the list of the world’s most polluted cities.
The contradiction is striking. “If Punjab has reduced stubble burning by 75 percent, then what exactly is polluting Delhi’s air?” asked a senior Punjab official, pointing to data showing that Punjab’s air quality is up to five times cleaner than Delhi’s at present. “How can the same smoke skip Punjab and settle only over Delhi?” he said, calling the logic “scientifically inconsistent.”
Experts say the focus on Punjab’s fields risks diverting attention from Delhi’s own pollution sources — vehicular emissions, industrial waste, and dust from construction sites. “Stubble burning is only one part of the picture. The core of Delhi’s crisis lies within its borders,” said an environmental researcher at Punjab Agricultural University.
The issue has also created tension within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself. While leaders in Delhi accuse Punjab’s farmers of triggering the smog, the party’s Punjab unit finds itself cornered. Senior leaders such as Sunil Jakhar, Ravneet Singh Bittu, and Ashwini Sharma have yet to respond publicly to whether they endorse their party colleagues’ statements or back the state’s farmers.
Political observers note that Punjab’s progress on stubble management deserves recognition, not reproach. “This is the first year we are seeing such a steep fall. Instead of blame, Delhi should take a cue,” a senior official noted.
As winter sets in and smog thickens over the NCR, the debate appears set to intensify. But the data now makes one fact undeniable: Punjab’s farmers, long portrayed as the villains of Delhi’s pollution, may finally have the numbers on their side.
