How governmentality exacerbates the problem of farmers stubble burning, Pg 9

• Winter air pollution in Indo-Gangetic plains worsens due to post-harvest stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana, and western UP.

• A recent study by IIT Kanpur and AIRShed (2023) found stubble burning contributes 2040% of total PM2.5 load in north India during OctoberNovember.

2. Study Framework: Governmentality & Market Failure

• Authors: Sujit R. Jagadale and Javed M. Shaikh (IIM Amritsar).

• Lens used: Governmentality a concept by Foucault highlighting how states subtly govern behaviour by shaping choices without overt coercion.

1. Subtle Power Structures

• Farmers appear to choose to burn stubble, but their choices are conditioned by:

• Skewed Minimum Support Price (MSP) system

• Lack of viable market alternatives

• Dependence on middlemen (arthiyas)

• Absence of sustainable waste disposal technologies

2. Policy Distortion & State's Role

• Government often penalises farmers for pollution but ignores similar or greater emissions from industrial actors.

• This selective governance creates resentment and entrenches mistrust in ruralurban environmental divides.

3. Interviews Conducted

• Farmers from Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran (Punjab) were interviewed.

• Major issues voiced:

• Lack of alternatives to burning

• High cost and low effectiveness of decomposers

• Lack of institutional support for crop diversification or waste-based products

Significance

• Explains structural helplessness: Farmers do not burn by choice, but due to lack of alternatives and state neglect.

• Reveals how policy architecture supports industrial pollution while penalising rural practices.

• Urges need for social justice and fair environmental governance.

1. Policy Reforms Needed

• Move away from penal tactics to incentivised, participatory governance.

• Develop market ecosystems for stubble-based products like fodder, biofuels, compost.

• Support small and marginal farmers with access to technological and institutional solutions.

2. Empowering Farmer Voices

• Include farmers in policymaking processes.

• Support grassroots organisations and alternative income pathways.

• Address MSP reforms, diversify crops, and decentralise waste management.

Mains Mock Question:

"Examine the role of state policy and market structures in perpetuating the issue of stubble burning in North India. How can sustainable alternatives be promoted without marginalising farmers?"