- Delhi's air pollution crisis is linked to stubble burning.
- Political blame game intensifies over farm fires annually.
- Enforcement measures fail to curb stubble burning incidents.
Delhi Air Pollution: It has become an annual ritual now. Every year in winter, when Delhi gets choked by polluted air, politicians in the national capital start blaming Punjab and Haryana. Since the Punjab Assembly elections are around the corner, this time, more allegations are directed at the AAP-ruled state. The stubble-burning in Punjab and Haryana is a long-standing issue which has remained unaddressed due to a complicated political scenario. With a thick layer of smog hanging over the national capital on Friday, Delhi's air quality deteriorated sharply and edged closer to the ''severe'' category, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 391.
The Supreme Court, which once termed the national capital a "gas chamber", touched upon the issue and asked authorities to divert their focus to vehicular pollution as well. The top court termed vehicular pollution as one of the major contributors to the "severely" polluted air in the national capital.
Air pollution in Delhi NCR | Supreme Court has indicated that Diwali celebrations must be accompanied by greater awareness about pollution and said that imposing restrictions alone would not solve the problem and could instead lead to more violations. A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, hearing the suo motu case on air pollution in Delhi-NCR, said there was a need to look at our original customs and practices during festivals. “Why don’t we revert to our original customs? the CJI asked, while emphasising that celebrations should be accompanied by a sense of responsibility towards the environment. Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked that the issue was also linked to the commercialisation of festivals. The observations came during a discussion on the rise in pollution around Diwali, with the Centre’s counsel pointing out that pollution levels had increased further due to the festival and the movement of people on roads. The bench indicated that merely imposing more restrictions or passing orders would not be an effective solution. “No restriction is going to work. The more orders we pass, the more violations will multiply,” the Court observed, stressing the need for behavioural change and pollution awareness. The CJI also cautioned against blaming economically weaker sections for the pollution crisis, observing that Diwali was an important period for people dependent on seasonal work and festivities for their livelihood. “Poor people do not generate any pollution. They are the sufferers. It is those who can afford it and those who can contribute to it,” the CJI remarked.
— ANI (@ANI) November 6, 2026
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Stubble-Burning Issue In Punjab, Haryana
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) stated that Punjab has recorded 2,787 incidents of stubble burning so far this season, with authorities imposing environmental compensation of Rs 46.10 lakh and registering 710 FIRs. The report, covering monitoring and enforcement action up to November 5, stated that field inspections were conducted at 2,194 locations out of the total reported incidents. Stubble burning was confirmed at 994 locations.
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Additionally, 710 FIRs have been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with stubble-burning incidents. Red entries have also been made in revenue records in 829 cases. Across the state, 786 warning or show-cause notices have been issued. The report also mentioned that prosecution proceedings have been initiated against the concerned officials in 18 cases.
The figures indicate that despite enforcement measures, including field inspections, environmental penalties, FIRs and red entries in revenue records, stubble-burning incidents continue to be reported across several districts of Punjab.
According to the Decision Support System (DSS), stubble burning accounted for 20.2 per cent of Delhi's pollution on Wednesday, the largest contributor to the air pollution. Satellites detected 467 farm fires across the six study states on November 4, including 151 in Punjab.
According to government data, between 15 September to 1 November (when paddy harvesting started in the agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana), 1,514 stubble fires were reported from Punjab, as against the 2,084 fires reported in the same period last year. Haryana, on the other hand, reported 42 fires compared with 118 reported last year.
Recently, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Bhupender Yadav said the stubble burning is a significant contributor to seasonal air pollution in Delhi-NCR. The paddy harvesting season, Punjab is estimated to generate 18.80 million tonnes, Haryana 7.97 million tonnes, and UP-NCR 0.85 million tonnes of paddy straw.
Politics And Pollution
On the political front, the Delhi ruling party, BJP, was leaving no stone unturned to attack Punjab, where Arvind Kejriwal's party, AAP, is in power. Interestingly, the saffron party evades Haryana, another farming state, because of political compulsion.
The AAP has also compromised its stand on the issue. When Congress was in power in Punjab, the same AAP would target the state, but now it stands on the defensive, which reflects the political complexity involved in the matter.
Punjab Govt 'Misleading' People On Stubble Burning: Delhi Minister
On Thursday, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the Punjab government of misleading people about stubble burning, alleging that a sharp spike in farm fires in the neighbouring state contributed to the deterioration in the national capital's air quality.
#WATCH | Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa visits Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), Shastri Park, which is established to monitor air pollution. He says, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann yesterday lied saying that paddy harvesting has not started in Punjab. As per data given by his govt, paddy harvesting is 70% complete. He also asked if smoke from Punjab travels to Delhi. I am showing present data showing pollution in Punjab; the figure is over 1100 in Bathinda, it’s over 1000 in Talwandi Sabo and similarly for other areas. My point is that the Aam Aadmi Party is playing with the health of the people of Punjab—and the health of their children. On the 30th Oct, the AQI level in Delhi was 60; on the 31st, it reached 117. Tell me, what happened in just three days that caused it to surge? There has been no new construction in Delhi, no new polluting vehicles have been introduced, and no new polluting industries have been set up. So, how did the air in Delhi become polluted? The air that the people of Delhi had worked hard to clean over the past year suddenly became polluted within just four days. And today, it is on the verge of reaching 350 to 400. On Nov 3, 584 stubble burning incidents were recorded in a single day in Punjab, this is a new high. This data comes from the Punjab Pollution Control Board itself, an organization where Arvind Kejriwal has appointed his own relative, an Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson from Delhi."
— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2026
Delhi's Air Quality Index rose from 117 on October 31 to 377 on November 4, coinciding with a significant increase in farm-fire incidents in Punjab. He said the state recorded 584 farm fires on November 3 alone, up from 98 on November 2, bringing the cumulative total to 2,196 between October 29 and November 3.
BJP Is Against Punjab Farmers: AAP
Hitting back at Sirsa, AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of harbouring hatred toward farmers and the people of Punjab
"In 2021, there were 71,000 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab. By 2022, this number had dropped to 49,922. In 2023, the figure fell further to 36,663, which is 13,259 fewer incidents compared to 2022. Then, in 2024, it decreased to 10,909 - a reduction of 25,754 incidents compared to 2023. And in 2025, it dropped to 5,114," the AAP leader defended Punjab.
#WATCH | Delhi | On Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa's statement, AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, “The BJP harbors hatred toward farmers and the people of Punjab... In 2021, there were 71,000 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab. By 2022, this number had dropped to 49,922... In 2023, the figure fell further to 36,663—which is 13,259 fewer incidents compared to 2022. Then, in 2024, it decreased to 10,909—a reduction of 25,754 incidents compared to 2023. And in 2025, it dropped to 5,114..."
— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2026
Amid the political slugfest over the air pollution issue, the people of Delhi have continued to gasp for breath. They have been promised pollution-free Delhi in every election, but their wait seems never-ending. In the last 15 years, Delhi has seen the rule of the Congress, AAP and BJP, yet no government has succeeded in curbing the rising air pollution.