MP accounts for 66% of stubble burning cases:8 of top 10 districts from state, Vidisha leads while Raisen ranks third

Madhya Pradesh is leading the country in stubble-burning cases, accounting for over 60% of incidents among the five states where stubble is burned. In April, 48,524 wheat stubble-burning cases were reported across five states, of which 32,211 were from MP alone. The situation is so severe that 8 of the top 10 districts in the country for stubble-burning incidents are from MP, with Vidisha ranking first. These figures come from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). After MP, Uttar Pradesh is second with 13,308 cases in April, followed by Haryana (1,565), Punjab (1,418), and Delhi (22). Narmadapuram district was leading in MP until April 14, but a sharp rise in stubble-burning cases in Vidisha and Raisen over the last 15 days pushed both districts to the top, likely due to delayed sowing and harvesting. Although fines of up to ₹15,000 and FIR provisions exist against farmers burning stubble, they have not proved effective. Biomass plan failed Only 1.27 lakh tonnes of biomass used for electricity generation from stubble Sensing the danger, the Environment Department has started formulating a strategy in collaboration with all 15 government and 17 private thermal power plants in the state. The Union Ministry of Power had instructed that 5% of the total coal consumption in 2024-25 and 7% in 2025-26 should be co-fired with biomass. According to this, 46 to 58 lakh tons of biomass were to be utilised. However, only 2 lakh metric tons of biomass have been utilized so far. Now, efforts to increase biomass production have begun. Currently, biomass is being procured from Haryana-UP. Don’t burn stubble, decompose it with urea and decomposer, and make fertilizer Dr. V.K. Garg, Dean, Agriculture College, Ganjbasoda Making fodder from stubble is the best option. Bundles of stubble can be made with a baler machine and used for packaging delicate items like glass. Through machines like super feeder and seed drill, crops like moong, urad, and soybean can be sown directly without tilling using ‘zero tillage’ (zero till) technology. By spraying urea and decomposer, stubble can be converted into fertilizer, and the soil also receives natural nutrients. Vidisha claims 12.63% reduction from last year Deputy Director (Agriculture) K.S. Khapedia says that in Vidisha district, incidents of stubble burning have seen a significant reduction due to the joint efforts of the administration and farmers. While 4417 incidents were reported in the year 2025-26, this number has decreased to 3906 in the current year, meaning a reduction of approximately 12.63%.