Delhi Smog

Delhi suffers from smog every winter. The biggest cause for that, of course, is pollution. A lesser cause, but not a trivial one, is because of the crop residue being burnt in neighbouring Punjab. And therein lies a tale, one narrated very well by Pranay Kotasthane.

 

The problem isn’t that the crop residue is being burnt; rather, it is that it is burnt simultaneously across many farms in a very short time period (the first week of November). Ok, so why’s that the case? And can the problem be reduced by spread over a larger time period?

 

In theory, sure. In practice, no. Why not? Because the kharif crop (paddy) is sowed after June 15:

“This leads to a delayed output leaving farmers with very little time to clear the field for the next crop.”

But that just raises a new question – why is the crop sowed late? And would sowing it sooner help with Delhi’s smog problem?

 

No. Because the Punjab government’s act of 2009 prohibits paddy transplantation before June 15. And they enforce this rule strictly. Why does the government forbid paddy transplantation before that date? To save water during peak summer:

“Paddy farms apparently need 4500 litres/hectare water in April as against 3000 litlres/hectare in June because of evaporation in the summer months.”

 

But why on earth is paddy even grown if water scarcity is such an issue? Because of the government’s MSP (Minimum Support Price) for farmers – that’s the price the government guarantees to pay for certain crops.

“(The MSP policy) incentivises over-production of rice even in areas not well-suited.”

 

This is a tragic yet excellent example of how policies that make perfect sense at every step can create side effects and perverse incentives. The next time you curse politicians and bureaucrats, it might help to remember this example. How can anyone correctly guess third, fourth and even fifth order consequences? While all bad policies don’t fall in this category, considering this possibility would at least reduce one’s blood pressure.