Haryana cuts stubble burning 91% as Delhi-NCR winter pollution plan sharpens

Haryana has reduced paddy stubble-burning incidents by 91 per cent since 2021 and has stepped up work on road dust, industrial emissions and air-quality monitoring as part of its plan to tackle pollution in the Delhi-NCR region, according to an official statement.

Sharing the details after attending a high-level task force meeting on managing air pollution in Delhi-NCR on Friday, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi said the state would intensify action ahead of winter, with focus on farm fires, road dust, industrial and vehicular emissions, waste burning and other major sources of particulate pollution.

Rastogi said Haryana was pursuing a coordinated strategy covering paddy-straw management, road dust, industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, construction and demolition waste, municipal solid waste and the expansion of air-quality monitoring.

The state has achieved a 91 per cent reduction in paddy stubble-burning fire counts in 2025 compared with 2021, which he said reflected the impact of its enforcement and crop-residue management measures.

Haryana generates about 7.97 million tonnes of paddy straw. Its management plan aims to handle 55 per cent of this through in-situ methods, 33 per cent through ex-situ utilisation and 12 per cent as fodder.

The state has procured 7,950 crop-residue management machines and has set a target of 9,000 for the 2026 season. Ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw rose to 1.32 million tonnes in 2023, 1.55 million tonnes in 2024 and 2.19 million tonnes in 2025, and is projected to reach 2.71 million tonnes in 2026.

To strengthen surveillance, the state plans to deploy about 50 drones in hotspot areas. Low-cost PM2.5 sensors are also proposed for hotspot villages, while burnt areas will be verified on the ground through an ISRO-developed mobile application, Rastogi said.

He also said Haryana achieved 5.89 per cent biomass co-firing in thermal power plants up to August 2026, crossing the five per cent benchmark.

Biomass co-firing in brick kilns in non-NCR Haryana has reached 21.9 per cent and is proposed to be increased to 30 per cent from November 1.

On road dust, which Rastogi described as a major source of particulate pollution in the NCR, 675 km of the 1,162 km of roads identified for redevelopment have been completed, a 58 per cent achievement.

The state is also implementing the Road Asset Management System, with focus on road redevelopment, repairing potholes and damaged footpaths, and better management of road infrastructure.

Haryana has deployed 78 of the 81 large and medium mechanised road-sweeping machines needed for roads wider than 10 metres, achieving 96 per cent deployment, with three machines yet to be deployed.

The state will also focus on smaller mechanised sweeping machines for narrower roads, litter-picking equipment and digital tracking of sweeping machines.

Rastogi said industrial pollution-control measures were also being strengthened. Haryana has 1,309 industries covered under the industrial pollution-control review framework, of which 192 have been exempted or certified as having adequate arrangements.

Of the remaining 1,117 industries that require action on air-pollution control devices, purchase orders have been placed in 383 cases.

He further said 3,211 active construction and demolition sites measuring more than 500 square metres in Haryana have been registered on the monitoring web portal.

The state currently has 1,018 electric city buses against an assessed requirement of 2,900, and 1,276 charging stations against a requirement of 2,500. Haryana has also identified 121 traffic-congestion points and decongested 46 of them.

At present, Haryana has 22 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations, against a proposed network of 45 stations. Three real-time source apportionment sites have also been finalised in Haryana at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Indira Gandhi University, Rewari.

Overall, the state said it was continuing work across farm fires, road dust, industries, vehicles and monitoring systems as it prepares for the winter pollution season.- Ends