Chandigarh, Nov 10: Haryana appears to be making significant progress in tackling stubble burning, with farm fire incidents during the ongoing paddy harvesting season falling to their lowest level in six years. The state recorded only 192 active fire locations as of November 9, 2026, against 333 during the corresponding period last year, according to official figures.
The latest data, coupled with information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, highlight the scale of the Centre’s financial support for crop residue management in Haryana. Over the past nine years, the Centre has released Rs 1,220.42 crore to the state under the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme, of which Rs 933.96 crore has been utilised.
A comparison of active fire locations during the paddy harvesting season shows a consistent decline in recent years. Haryana recorded 4,753 incidents in 2021, 2,693 in 2022, 1,676 in 2023, 959 in 2024 and 333 in 2025. The figure has further dropped to 192 this year, marking a nearly 96 per cent reduction from the 2021 level.
Stubble burning has long been a major concern for the National Capital Region, where smoke from agricultural fields contributes to deteriorating air quality during the post-monsoon months. The CRM scheme aims to address the problem by encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable methods of managing paddy straw, including incorporating residue into the soil and using it for other purposes instead of burning it.
The RTI reply shows that the Centre’s financial assistance to Haryana peaked at Rs 223.46 crore in 2022-23. The state received Rs 137.84 crore in 2018-19, Rs 192.06 crore in 2019-20, Rs 170 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 193.35 crore in 2021-22. The subsequent releases were Rs 90 crore in 2023-24, Rs 75 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 90 crore in 2025-26. During the current financial year, Rs 48.71 crore has been released so far.
On the expenditure front, Haryana utilised Rs 106.58 crore in 2018-19, Rs 127.16 crore in 2019-20, Rs 208.89 crore in 2020-21, Rs 178.33 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 86.84 crore in 2022-23. The RTI response records nil utilisation in 2023-24, while expenditure stood at Rs 226 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 16 lakh in 2025-26.
The state has also developed an extensive network of Custom Hiring Centres to facilitate access to machinery for crop residue management. The RTI data lists 10,627 centres in 2018-19, 14,078 in 2019-20, 29,020 in 2020-21, 19,059 in 2021-22, 7,641 in 2022-23, 10,620 in 2023-24, 9,844 in 2024-25 and 9,885 in 2025-26. The cumulative figure is 1,10,774 centres.
The sharp decline in active fire locations suggests that efforts to promote alternatives to stubble burning are gaining ground in Haryana, although continued monitoring and wider adoption of residue management practices remain important to sustain the improvement.
