As the kharif harvest ends and rabi sowing begins, Madhya Pradesh has once again surged past Punjab to record the highest number of stubble burning incidents in India. Sheopur, a remote district in northern Madhya Pradesh with vast paddy fields and predominantly small landholdings, has become India’s unlikely stubble-burning hotspot for the second consecutive year.
Data from the Consortium for Research on Agrosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS) shows that, as of November 22, Madhya Pradesh reported 11,925 fire incidents—more than double Punjab’s 5,076 cases.
This is not new. Last year, Madhya Pradesh also topped the country with 16,360 incidents, far ahead of Punjab and other states.
This year, 7 out of the 10 districts in the country where the most stubble was burned are from Madhya Pradesh. This means Madhya Pradesh’s performance this year has been worse than last year.
District Collector Arpit Verma of Sheopur, located 428 km from Bhopal, regularly monitors stubble burning statistics in the state. His round of meetings begins at 10 AM. Amidst all the district’s administrative work, he repeatedly emphasizes that fires should not be set or allowed in the fields.
Verma’s concern is justified. Like last year, Sheopur has again recorded the highest number of stubble burning incidents (1,930) in the country this time. In 2024, the highest number of stubble burning cases in the country 2,508, were recorded in Sheopur itself.
Sheopur district pushed hard this year – training officers, running awareness in 388 villages, and distributing a record 88 subsidised super seeders – yet it still leads India with 1,930 stubble fires, the highest for the second straight season. While Madhya Pradesh overtook Punjab as the country’s top stubble-burning state, Sheopur’s repeated failure raises a stark question: if the strongest anti-burning drive in India cannot stop the fires here, can machinery and campaigns alone solve the problem anywhere?
This Year’s Preparations
The administration had been preparing for three months to ensure Sheopur didn’t repeat its old record. Speaking with Ground Report in the first week of November, Verma said:
“We trained 118 officers in the district. Currently, they are deployed in 388 villages for publicity and monitoring of stubble management.”
Verma says that in September, officers visited about 95 villages to listen to farmers’ problems and began researching solutions. Verma explained that by analyzing old stubble burning data, the district created categories of high-risk, moderate, and low farm fire areas. These included 10, 81, and 165 villages respectively. Based on priority from high-risk to low-risk categories, an awareness campaign was launched. According to data obtained from the District Collector’s office, more than 6,555 farmers have been encouraged not to burn stubble through awareness camps.
Effective Super Seeder?
Upon entering the District Collector’s office premises, there’s a large hoarding promoting the use of super seeders. This hoarding mentions the benefits of super seeders, their estimated cost, and efficiency. A super seeder is a device attached to a tractor that cuts and mixes the remaining crop parts into the soil, improving soil texture and reducing the need for stubble burning.
Sheopur’s district administration is encouraging farmers to acquire agricultural equipment for stubble management under the Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM). According to the guidelines of this mission, operated under the PM-National Agriculture Development Scheme, SC, ST, marginal, and women farmers receive 50% subsidy for agricultural equipment, while general category farmers receive 40% subsidy. However, the maximum subsidy amount varies according to the type and capacity of the equipment.
This year, Sheopur’s district administration received a target to help farmers acquire 61 super seeders, 6 smart seeders, and 37 happy seeders on subsidy specifically for stubble management. But achieving this target of 104 agricultural implements was a difficult task for the district.
According to data obtained from the Sheopur Agriculture Deputy Director’s office, from 2022 to 2024, farmers had purchased only 24 super seeders in total. However, according to data up to November 4, 2025, this year 426 applications were received for 8 implements related to stubble management. Of these, 178 applications were for super seeders. Meanwhile, a total of 135 agricultural implements have been distributed to farmers, including 88 super seeders.
Lakhan Singh Gurjar, Chief Scientist at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Baroda (Sheopur), explains its benefits, saying that super seeders can utilize the moisture from paddy fields for sowing. He explains that after burning stubble, it takes 10 days to prepare the field. Using a super seeder, sowing can be done at least 15 days earlier. This way, early sowing can be done without burning stubble.
Still at the Top
Lakshman Meena from Gota village in Sheopur cultivates paddy on 40 bighas. He purchased a super seeder this year, yet he still sets fire to his fields. When asked why, he says, “My field has black soil, and the super seeder doesn’t work in it at all.”
Many other farmers at Sheopur Mandi echo this sentiment about super seeders. Lakshman Meena purchased his super seeder for a total of 2.5 lakh rupees. Of this, he paid 1.30 lakh rupees from his own pocket, while he received 1.20 lakh rupees as subsidy. Narayan Gurjar from Chandipura, who came to sell his crop at Sheopur Mandi, farms on just 6 bighas. He explains that the ground beneath his field is rocky, and this machine doesn’t work on it. However, he hasn’t tried it yet. He says:
“I got 1,800 rupees per quintal for my paddy crop. After costs, it’s difficult to make a profit. How can I buy a seeder?”
Gurjar also explains the limitations along with the benefits of this equipment. He says this equipment requires at least a 60 horsepower tractor. But for small and marginal farmers, buying a separate tractor for this is an expensive proposition. Agricultural expert Devinder Sharma also doesn’t consider these implements very effective for stubble management. He says:
“The government is giving subsidies on these implements, but a machine that used to cost 50,000 rupees now costs more than 1.5 lakh rupees.”
Dharmendra Rawat, a farmer from Rannod in Sheopur, says, “The seeder will only be used for 3 weeks during harvest time. Why would any farmer spend so much for such a short period?” Sharma agrees with Rawat’s reasoning.
It’s noteworthy that farmers currently use seed drill machines for sowing. Its estimated cost ranges from 50,000 to 70,000 rupees, while a happy seeder costs more than 2 lakh rupees.
Other Options
Sharma suggests that instead of giving subsidies on implements, the government should pay 2,000 rupees per acre for stubble. Meanwhile, Dr. Pradeep Nandi, Director General of the National Center for Human Settlement and Environment (NCHSE), says that if the government wants stubble not to be burned, it will have to give value to the stubble. He says:
“The government will have to contact industries that use this stubble to make products. Its purchase should happen near the village so that farmers don’t have to travel far and stand in long lines.”
In April this year, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav announced that if any farmer burns stubble, they will be deprived of the Kisan Samman Nidhi and purchases at minimum support price. Following this, fines were imposed on farmers in several places including Bhopal and Indore. According to a news report published on April 19, at least 50 FIRs were registered. However, according to a news report published on November 22, no FIRs have been registered this season so far.
Sharma opposes one-sided action against farmers. He says, “If FIRs are to be filed for pollution, why isn’t such action taken against people in cities who have more than one vehicle?”
However, the Sheopur Collector told us that instead of taking strict action against farmers, the administration is only counseling them. On the topic of buying stubble, Verma says:
“We contacted industries that make pellets and briquettes from mustard or wheat crop residue. We also told farmers that if they don’t want to clear their fields, give the administration some time, and allow entrepreneurs who want to cut and take away stubble from fields at their own expense to access their fields.”
This means the district administration is adopting solutions similar to what Sharma and Dr. Nandi are suggesting. Then why aren’t these methods working? Jaswant Singh Meena, District President of Kisan Congress, Sheopur, answers this question: “Farmers are neither familiar with whatever measures the government or administration is bringing, nor have they been consulted about them. That’s why these measures look good on paper but don’t show results on the ground.”
However, when we ask farmers in different villages of Sheopur and at the agricultural produce market about the work being done by the administration for stubble management, most farmers don’t appear aware of it. Some farmers know that the government is giving subsidies for super seeders. But farmers are completely unaware of things like giving stubble to industries or someone doing baling and taking away the stubble themselves. Perhaps this is why, although the number of farmers buying super seeders in the district has increased, even this achievement couldn’t prevent Sheopur from once again becoming number one in stubble burning cases.
Banner Image: A farmer seting fire to a his field near Bhopal by Pallav Jain
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