Rs 1,200 an acre, free decomposer spray and pellet power: India’s anti-stubble schemes decoded

Rs 1,200 an acre, free decomposer spray and pellet power: India’s anti-stubble schemes decoded

Each winter, the toxic haze over north India revives the same debate: how do you stop farmers from torching paddy stubble? This year, though, the spotlight is on the government schemes meant to prevent those fires. Between cash payouts, stricter penalties, and new markets for straw, India’s stubble playbook is a mix of incentives and enforcement.

The Centre’s flagship schemes

At the core is the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme, which subsidises machines like the Happy Seeder, Super Seeder, mulchers and rotavators. It also mandates Super Straw Management System (Super SMS) attachments on combine harvesters, so straw is chopped and reincorporated into the soil. States receive funds to set up Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) where farmers can rent machines.

The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) acts as the umbrella programme, ensuring Centre-state cost-sharing (60:40, or 100 percent for UTs) and binding states to submit composite action plans.

Separately, the National Policy for Management of Crop Residues underpins both in-situ incorporation and ex-situ utilisation.

The biological route

A different experiment is the Pusa Decomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). Sprayed onto fields, it accelerates the decomposition of straw within 20–25 days. Delhi has been using it for approximately 5,000 acres each season, while Punjab and Haryana have run parallel pilots. A new wettable formulation was introduced in 2024, but scientists caution it’s not a magic bullet: moisture and tillage still matter.

From straw to energy

A major policy shift has been to treat straw as a feedstock. Under the SAMARTH mission, the Power Ministry has mandated that thermal plants co-fire at least 5 percent biomass pellets from 2024–25, rising to 7 percent in 2025–26.

Parallelly, the SATAT scheme encourages compressed biogas (CBG) plants to source straw, with public-sector oil companies signing offtake agreements. Progress has been patchy: a few dozen plants are operational, but most are still under construction.

Ex-situ options also include supplying industrial boilers, brick kilns and paper mills, though scale remains limited.

State-level responses

Punjab: Its 2025 action plan targets 19.3 million tonnes of straw, with 11.4 MT to be managed in-situ and 7.06 MT through ex-situ channels, according to the Times of India. Penalties for burning now go up to Rs 30,000 per incident, while combines without Super SMS face fines of up to Rs 1 lakh. Around 1.48 lakh CRM machines are in operation. The state has also piloted behavioural campaigns with Deloitte after an 80 percent reduction in Patiala.

Haryana: Districts like Jind are enforcing Super SMS strictly. Crucially, according to the Department Of Agriculture And Farmers Welfare, Haryana has rolled out a Rs 1,200 per acre incentive for farmers who manage straw responsibly, one of the few direct cash payouts in play.

Delhi: The government continues its free Pusa Decomposer spray campaign across designated fields, supported by IARI scientists.

Courts and regulators

The Supreme Court in 2019 had ordered states to pay Rs 100 per quintal to small and marginal farmers who avoid burning. While never implemented at scale, the order remains a rallying point for farmer unions, who argue that penalties without compensation are unfair.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issues annual directions, identifies hotspot villages, and deploys flying squads for enforcement.

What this really means is that India isn’t short of schemes, it’s short of delivery. Machines are available, biomass rules exist, and even cash incentives are on the table. But the difference between burning and not burning often comes down to whether a farmer gets a working seeder on time, a reliable buyer for straw, or an incentive payout that actually lands in their account.