Panjab Prepares for Paddy Harvest; CM Defends Farmers

September

2026

In 2026, Panjab's has reached 3.2M ha under rice cultivation and will deploy 125K Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines. Of these, 67K CRM machines distributed since the scheme launched in 2018 have been in use for more than five years and are now considered non-functional or scrap. To replenish the fleet, around 22K new CRM machines are being added, which cost USD 63M. The union and state government share the funding in a 60:40 ratio. Around 2K additional machines are also expected to come through other schemes and grants. Panjab now has around 6,100 Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs) from where farmers can hire CRM machinery instead of purchasing it. The state is adding 600 new CHCs in 2026. Panjab generates over 20MT of paddy stubble, out of which the state is expected to manage around 8MT through ex-situ utilization, including by making bales of the stubble through balers. These bales are used in several biomass plants and compressed biogas plants, as well as in pellet-making units. The state is also planning to deploy 8K agriculture and field-level personnel during the paddy harvesting period to monitor residue management and farm-fire incidents. The challenge is no longer simply one of making machinery available. The state must ensure enough functional machines reach fields at the right time, especially as the harvesting window remains compressed to about 15 days between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing. According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Panjab recorded 5,114 farm-fire incidents during the 2025 paddy harvesting season. This was 53% lower than the 10,909 incidents recorded in 2024 and 93% lower than in 2021. Meanwhile, speaking at a Kisan Mela (Farmers' Fair) at Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana on 24 Sep, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended farmers ahead of the post-harvest season, during which the Delhi-NCR cluster sees deadly pollution that's partly blamed on paddy stubble burning. He said he's not in favor of registering cases against farmers who choose to burn the crop residue. He trained his guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led union government and targeted his counterpart from Pakistan's Panjab province, Maryam Nawaz. He said, 'The union government says Panjab has contributed 18MMT paddy to the central pool. But they do not consider how much stubble comes with the paddy' (earlier coverage).