Delhi’s Toxic Air: Farm Fires Have Made Delhi’s Air Quality ‘Severe’
Air pollution levels in Delhi are creating a Catch-22 situation for the ruling party. Considering the toxic smoke blanketing Delhi, what priority will be given to the health and well-being of Delhiites or appeasing Punjab farmers?
In Punjab and Haryana, farm fires have sparked severe air quality in Delhi. Punjab’s AAP party seems reluctant to crack down on farmers clearing their fields before winter sowing, having come to power following the farmers’ agitation in 2020-21.
Is Delhi, where respiratory ailments and eye inflammation throng hospitals, any different? The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that air pollution caused 54,000 premature deaths in 2020.
In addition to asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and bladder cancer, exposure to harmful air is associated with various long-term health problems.
The presence of air pollution causes impairments in the lungs of a high proportion of children in Delhi. It would be reasonable to assume that clean air would be high on the priority list of the AAP since health and education have been its flagship policies.
In dealing with this ‘burning’ issue, the credibility of the AAP is suspect. As part of its charges, the Punjab government, led by the Congress, failed to prevent farm fires from choking Delhi.
However, it supported the protestors’ demands, including decriminalizing stubble-burning, during the farmer’s agitation. The Centre also accepted this request. Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab’s then-chief minister, quashed all stubble-burning cases in 2017.
Having taken power, AAP is now in the midst of a significant transition. Farm fires continue to occur despite repeated appeals and a statewide awareness campaign.
A solid initiative to curb the practice taken by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has proved hollow. Compared to last year, 16,004 farm fires were reported until 31 October.
On 31 October alone, Punjab recorded 2,131 farm fires, according to news reports. The BJP and Congress have accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of fiddling while Punjab burns.
Farmers who have not lit a match demand monetary compensation and are undeterred by fines and red-listing (preventing them from taking out loans). Such red entries in revenue records have already sparked protests from farmers’ unions.
Since farmers’ protests are ever-present, no politician will advocate a tough stance. The AAP’s political compulsions and the state’s flailing economy hamper Mann’s campaign.
In order to solve the problem, many and varied solutions require an extraordinary amount of political will because the politics of subsidies is at the core of the issue.
As rice is a water-guzzling crop, Punjab’s farmers depend on groundwater.
Their tubewells are, therefore, dependent on subsidized electricity to run. Any attempts to rationalize the state’s long-standing power subsidy have been blocked by the influential farm lobby, which significantly impacts its finances.
Incentives for farmers to grow rice prevent the diversification of crops. In contrast, they do not have the necessary skills to manage the paddy straw, which is unsuitable for fodder and useless.
After harvesting, combine harvesters leave behind a lot of stubble that needs to be removed quickly before rabi sowing. This slows down the yield of the crops. Because a matchbox costs less than labor or machinery, farmers burn it instead of using machines.
In the past, state governments have offered subsidies for subsidized machinery to remove or decompose straws, but neither approach has proved successful. Farmers can sell paddy straw when they invest in balers that package it for sale, but many lack the funds to purchase the balers.
As Punjab has the highest debt-to-GSDP ratio in the nation, meeting the farmers’ compensation demands is challenging. In 2021-22, Rs 36,512 crore was devoted to debt servicing.
According to economists, ‘The Punjab Government is in a debt trap because the debt is being paid back by taking additional loans.’ Paying farmers is not a long-term approach.
Incentives must be offered to encourage them to switch to less water and must offer labor-intensive crops, and disincentives enable them to grow rice. Nevertheless, a viable straw management system must be implemented by the state.
Many political parties have failed to show the courage to take on this issue head-on, even though the health of NCR’s children is at stake. The governments are interested in Paddy straw handling machines instead of money.
The machines cannot reach small farmers’ fields when it is crunch time. Farmers set their fields on fire, knowing the state government wouldn’t take action on them if there were a short window between harvest and sowing again.
This year, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi-NCR has crossed 400 into the category of ‘severe,’ a vicious cycle of pollution in the national capital that has plagued the area for years during October-November.
The national capital has been referred to as a ‘gas chamber’ for a month due to the severe health problems it caused the residents of Delhi-NCR. This year, it has been a flop for the Punjab government to spread awareness to farmers about not burning stubble.
One of the most notable examples is the number of farm fires reported in Sangrur district, whence Bhagwant Mann hails from. Even his constituents refuse to burn straw, according to the CM. Over 14000 farm fires were reported in Punjab this year, almost double what they were last year.
Money Verses Machine Verses Awareness
‘Incentives will be provided to farmers who can use alternative methods to burn paddy straw’ – said AAP’s manifesto for Punjab earlier this year, raising hopes for breathable air in Delhi-NCR.
AAP’s Delhi government has always attributed pollution in Delhi to stubble fires caused by Punjab. Many believed the issue was finally resolved when the same party became the government in both Punjab and Delhi. The AAP has realized that the task is more complicated than it seems.
According to Arvind Kejriwal’s July announcement, he would offer farmers compensation of Rs 2,500 per acre for not burning paddy straw. Rather than give the Centre Rs 1,500, Punjab and Delhi responded with Rs 1,000 each.
According to the Centre, financial incentives could be misused and urged a more rigorous implementation of many machines that the Centre has provided to handle paddy straw.
AAP has declined to pay farmers 1000 rupees before harvest season, which is why the BJP questions why it did not meet its promise. Farmers are not managing paddy stubble due to the Centre’s summary rejection of the AAP proposal, the AAP says.
While most Punjabi farmers blame each other for the lack of machines reaching their fields on time, and if they did, they were not enough to help them out.
Despite Punjab’s efforts to educate farmers not to burn stubble and find alternatives to burning it, the rising farm fire figures have exposed it to be in vain. Punjab’s 1.2 lakh stubble removal machines have not proven enough to treat the stubble.
What About Action?
Farmers seem to be unconcerned about penalties, as monetary incentives have not been effective, machines don’t work, and awareness campaigns haven’t worked either. Sangrur farmer associations protested for days outside Mann’s house, demanding no action be taken against stubble burners.
Punjab has therefore been unwilling to take action against farmers despite 14,000 fires reported from the state already. Now, Punjab CM Mann has promised to keep an eye on the situation personally.
There is no doubt that it is a case of too little, too late, considering that the air quality in Delhi-NCR has already reached such levels as to be classified as ‘severe,’ and the farm fires are expected to rise further this week.
A fortnight ago, the Centre warned Punjab’s situation could worsen in 2021. As a result of those who tried to change the problem, the people are paying the price for their collective failure.
Edited by Prakriti Arora
