The political battle over Delhi’s worsening air pollution has taken a fresh turn, with the BJP-led Haryana government responding to AAP’s challenge over stubble burning by highlighting its incentive-based strategy to prevent farm fires.
After Punjab questioned Haryana over farm fires in the state and accused it of blaming Punjab for Delhi’s pollution, the Haryana government has countered by showcasing its crop-residue management model
The latest exchange follows Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema’s sharp attack on the BJP, in which he questioned why Punjab was being repeatedly blamed for Delhi’s pollution while farm fires in Haryana, also an agricultural state, were allegedly being ignored. The Haryana government’s response comes in the form of its crop-residue management measures, which the BJP is projecting as an alternative to the approach adopted by the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab. Its action plan includes deployment of thousands of balers, rakers and other crop-residue management machines; establishment of a dedicated Parali Protection Force at district and block levels; drone surveillance and intensified late-evening and night patrolling; financial incentives and machinery subsidies to encourage farmers to manage paddy straw and channelising collected paddy straw towards industries, biomass power plants and compressed biogas (CBG) units. The Haryana government has also prescribed strict action in verified cases of stubble burning, including FIRs, challans, environmental compensation and red entries in farmers’ land records. The party’s argument is that Haryana has created a mechanism involving both incentives and enforcement, whereas Punjab continues to witness farm fires despite repeated claims by the Mann government about reducing stubble burning.
Under its Parali Protsahan Yojana, the Haryana government is offering farmers an incentive of Rs 1,200 per acre for the effective utilisation of crop-residue management machinery. The state has also appointed 8,134 village-level nodal officers to monitor farm fires and coordinate with farmers. The state recorded 3,144 farm-fire incidents between September 15 and November 6, 2026, according to Punjab Pollution Control Board data. Tarn Taran accounted for the highest number at 611, followed by Ferozepur with 410, Sangrur with 281, Bathinda with 262 and Amritsar with 231.
