“Haryana Model: Resolute Governance for Sustainable Stubble Management”, The Sunday Guardian, November 22, 2025
“Every harvest season, northern India is forced to confront a policy failure that repeats itself with clockwork regularity. Fields are cleared through fire, the air thickens, and governments return to familiar debates over what could have been done. The science is settled. Crop residue burning is a preventable source of pollution that damages soil fertility, burdens public health systems and pushes air quality far beyond safe limits. What is less settled is the question of state capacity, political will and administrative discipline. In this context, Haryana stands out for having moved the problem from lament to solution. The state has shown that when governance systems are designed with clarity and executed with consistency, even long standing agricultural practices can shift. The “Haryana model” is the outcome of layered interventions that align technology, incentives and enforcement into a coherent policy structure.
At the centre of Haryana’s progress is a recognition that agricultural practices do not change through appeals alone. They change when states lower the transaction cost of doing the right thing. Haryana began by addressing the most basic requirement of crop residue management: access to machinery. Since 2018, the state has built a network of more than 6,700 custom hiring centres, units that make mechanisation accessible even to the smallest farmer. These centres provide happy seeders, super seeders, zero till drills, rotavators and mulchers at subsidised rates, reducing both cost and dependency. More than 80,000 pieces of crop residue machinery have been placed directly in the hands of farmers. For a state with a limited harvesting window between paddy and wheat, this density of machines ensures that sustainable practices are no longer delayed by logistical barriers. It is an example of a supply side intervention that addresses constraints before enforcement begins.
Haryana also worked on the demand side, shaping incentives that alter behavioural choices. The economics of residue management matter deeply in rural settings. Farmers respond quickly to signals that respect their time, labour and risk. The state introduced a structured financial architecture that covers the main forms of residue management. Farmers receive Rs 1,200 per acre for managing residue either within the field or through external processing channels. Those who shift away from paddy cultivation to less water intensive crops receive up to Rs 8,000 per acre under the Mera Pani Meri Virasat programme. Direct seeding of rice, which reduces residue generation, is supported with an additional Rs 4,000 to 4,500 per acre. The transportation of bales to gaushalas is subsidised as well. These payments reshape the cost benefit analysis of residue handling. By directly reducing the financial burden of sustainable practices, the state aligned farmer incentives with environmental objectives…….”
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