Sangrur, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Tuesday claimed that Punjab had recorded a nearly 95 per cent reduction in stubble-burning incidents compared to 2020, accusing the BJP of maligning the state’s farmers over Delhi’s pollution.
Citing data from the CREAMS laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Arora said Punjab recorded 83,002 farm-fire incidents in 2020, which declined to 5,114 in 2025 and further to 4,657 so far this season. He credited farmers’ cooperation and the Bhagwant Mann government’s efforts for the reduction.
Referring to data from SAFAR and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Arora said stubble smoke contributed 7.8 per cent to Delhi’s PM2.5 pollution on November 8, the day of Diwali, and 5 per cent on November 9. He claimed the average seasonal contribution remained between 4 and 5 per cent when two days were excluded. He challenged the BJP to explain how smoke from Punjab could reach Delhi in just 20 minutes and accused its leaders of ignoring scientific evidence on local sources of pollution.
Arora also referred to research by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), studies by Kulkarni and co-authors, and the Decision Support System (DSS), claiming these highlighted the significant contribution of local sources to Delhi’s pollution. He demanded an unconditional apology from the BJP for blaming Punjab’s farmers.
Detailing the state’s crop residue management measures, Arora said more than 1.62 lakh crop residue management machines had been provided at subsidised rates to farmers, panchayats, Farmer Producer Organisations and Custom Hiring Centres since 2022. Of these, 25,917 machines were provided during the current year.
He said the government was working towards the scientific management of approximately 1.14 crore tonnes of stubble in fields and 78 lakh tonnes outside fields. According to Arora, 83 stubble-fired industrial boilers were operational, while 16 more were being installed. He added that 78 stubble pellet projects were operational, 69 were at different stages of development, and 11 biomass power plants and nine compressed biogas plants were functioning. Letters of Intent had also been issued for 44 additional CBG projects.
Targeting BJP leaders Kapil Mishra and Manjinder Singh Sirsa over their remarks on Punjab’s farmers, Arora challenged state BJP leaders Sunil Jakhar and Kewal Singh Dhillon to clarify their position. He also questioned the use of drone surveillance when farm fires were already being monitored through satellite technology.
On paddy procurement, Arora said the approximately Rs 40,000 crore Cash Credit Limit (CCL) approved by the Centre had been fully utilised and sought its immediate enhancement to ensure uninterrupted procurement and payments to farmers. He said the state government was committed to procuring every grain of paddy and had also tightened border surveillance to prevent the illegal entry of paddy from neighbouring states.
Responding to questions on Punjab’s history, Arora said the military action at Sri Darbar Sahib and the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre remained painful chapters. He accused the Congress of failing to take adequate steps to support the affected families. Commenting on former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s cycle yatra, he said internal divisions in the Congress would prevent it from making a meaningful difference to the party’s political prospects.
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