In a humorous yet pointed response to accusations from Pakistan’s Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif that smog from India’s Punjab was impacting Lahore’s air quality, Indian Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called for an end to the “blame game” over pollution and urged for a collaborative approach to combat the problem. Mann’s remarks come as North India faces a yearly spike in air pollution linked to stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, impacting the region’s air quality, including Delhi and neighboring areas.
At an event, Mann humorously addressed Nawaz’s comments, noting that while Delhi frequently blames Punjab for its air pollution, Pakistan’s Punjab province is now doing the same. “It seems our pollution is making circles,” Mann quipped, drawing attention to the broader need for a shared solution. Mann’s comments also highlighted the complexity of managing air quality across borders, especially when multiple regions experience high pollution levels from similar sources.
The root cause of the smog in Punjab and neighboring areas is well-known: the practice of stubble burning by farmers after the paddy harvest in October and November. Faced with limited time to prepare their fields for the next crop, many farmers resort to burning crop residue to quickly clear the land, releasing substantial amounts of smoke and pollutants into the atmosphere. This method, though efficient, is a major contributor to seasonal air pollution, impacting not only India but neighboring Pakistan as well.
To address the issue, Mann advocated for a unified approach involving several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, which also contribute to the region’s poor air quality. He argued that only a collective response would lead to effective, lasting solutions and emphasized that Punjab alone could not shoulder the blame.
Mann also proposed crop diversification as a sustainable solution to reduce the need for stubble burning. He suggested incentivizing farmers to transition away from water-intensive paddy to alternative crops such as maize, millet, and lentils, which would have less impact on the environment. However, Mann emphasized that any such transition would need to be economically viable for farmers, who currently rely on paddy as a primary income source.
“We need to ensure that the income per acre from these other crops matches that of paddy,” Mann said, stressing the need for government support to make diversification a feasible choice. He further pointed out that paddy is not even a staple in Punjab, meaning its widespread cultivation is economically motivated rather than culturally essential.
In his statement, Mann called for long-term policy changes to facilitate crop diversification and reduce air pollution, underlining the role of joint efforts in addressing the cross-border pollution issue.