Lessons from China: Why India Still Struggles to Solve Stubble Burning issue



For over a decade, India has battled the recurring menace of stubble burning — a practice where farmers burn leftover paddy straw to prepare their fields for the next crop. Each winter, North India, especially Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana, is enveloped in thick smog, bringing respiratory diseases, reduced visibility, and choking air quality. Despite countless discussions, task forces, and promises, the problem persists — raising a crucial question: why has India failed to solve what China managed within a few years?

China’s Proactive and Systemic Model

China’s approach to pollution and stubble burning has been strategic, science-based, and heavily supported by the state. In 2019 alone, China provided ¥4 billion in subsidies to farmers to discourage burning and set up over 1,000 biomass conversion plants. Farmers received 80% subsidies on straw-collection machines, and crucially, they were paid for supplying straw to biomass facilities.

This not only prevented burning but created a new economic ecosystem — turning waste into wealth. Straw and crop residue became feedstock for biofuel, paper, and energy plants, while the government developed logistics, transport, and storage infrastructure to support the system.

The result was a win-win model: farmers earned extra income, industries got a sustainable resource base, and pollution levels fell significantly. Within a few years, Beijing, once a symbol of industrial smog, recorded some of the cleanest air days in recent history.

India’s Passive and Punitive Approach

India’s policy direction, unfortunately, tells a very different story. Instead of structural reforms, here we  saw tax cuts for corporations, while farmers received little meaningful support. There were no state-led biomass plants, no dedicated logistics networks, and minimal technological subsidies.

With the average rural income at ₹9,000 per month, farmers cannot afford ₹2–5 lakh straw management machines. Yet, instead of financial or technical assistance, the state’s response has often been punitive — fines, FIRs, and even jail sentences for stubble burning.

Recent headlines say it all:

Adding to this, India’s Environment Ministry exempted 78% of coal plants from installing mandatory anti-pollution systems. Such decisions undercut any genuine attempt to tackle air pollution comprehensively — punishing the weakest (farmers) while protecting the biggest polluters.

The Human and Environmental Cost

According to a BMJ study, air pollution kills over 2 million people annually in India, shortening lives and costing billions in lost productivity and healthcare. Children grow up with weakened lungs, asthma cases surge, and cities become unlivable each winter.

This isn’t just an environmental crisis — it’s a national economic and moral failure. India’s development story cannot be built on the suffering of its rural poor, who are forced to burn stubble out of necessity, not neglect.

What India Can Learn and Do Differently

Solving stubble burning isn’t about enforcement — it’s about enabling. India can learn from both China’s planning and its own grassroots innovators. The path forward must include:

  1. Direct payment incentives for farmers who sell or process straw instead of burning it.

  2. A national biomass mission, converting crop waste into biofuel, pellets, or compost.

  3. Heavy subsidies (70–80%) on straw management and collection machines.

  4. Rural employment generation through straw logistics, storage, and biomass plant operation.

  5. Public-private partnerships to build a circular agricultural economy.

  6. Education and awareness campaigns, not fines and criminal cases.

Such initiatives can transform stubble from a pollutant into a valuable rural resource, driving green energy and rural income simultaneously.

Still Waiting for Accountability

The contrast between China’s results and India’s stagnation is striking. Where one nation built systems, the other issued slogans. Where one empowered farmers, the other punished them.

India doesn’t lack ideas — it lacks implementation. The air that millions breathe each day depends not on speeches, but on serious policy action. Clean air isn’t a luxury; it’s a fundamental right, and it begins with compassion, planning, and political will.

If China could clean up its air with determination and science, India can too — but only when governance starts putting farmers and citizens above corporations and optics.

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