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Unintended Consequences of Indian Groundwater Preservation Law on Crop Residue Burning

Author

Listed:
  • Meghna Agarwala

    (` Ashoka University)

  • Shampa Bhattacharjee

    (` Shiv Nadar University)

  • Aparajita Dasgupta

    (` Ashoka University)

Abstract

Crop residue burning is a major concern for many countries since it leads to a deterioration of air quality, which has a number of health implications. This paper examines the unintended consequences of a policy aimed at improving the groundwater level on crop residue burning in India. The Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 was implemented in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana in March 2009, and it bans the transplantation of paddy before mid-June to preserve groundwater. Theoretically, this leaves a short window of time for clearing the crop residue before the next crop and thus increases the likelihood of farmers adopting time saving methods like crop residue burning. Exploiting the spatial and temporal variation of the Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, we compare the bordering areas of Punjab and Haryana with that of the neighbouring states and find that the ban results in both delay and an increase in crop residue burning in the winter months. The findings have important implications for environmental policy design.

Suggested Citation

  • Meghna Agarwala & Shampa Bhattacharjee & Aparajita Dasgupta, 2021. "Unintended Consequences of Indian Groundwater Preservation Law on Crop Residue Burning," Working Papers 61, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ash:wpaper:61
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    File URL: https://dp.ashoka.edu.in/ash/wpaper/paper61_0.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Graff Zivin, Joshua & Liu, Tong & Song, Yingquan & Tang, Qu & Zhang, Peng, 2020. "The unintended impacts of agricultural fires: Human capital in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    2. He, Guojun & Liu, Tong & Zhou, Maigeng, 2020. "Straw burning, PM2.5, and death: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Marcos A. Rangel & Tom S. Vogl, 2019. "Agricultural Fires and Health at Birth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 616-630, October.
    4. Clément Imbert & John Papp, 2015. "Labor Market Effects of Social Programs: Evidence from India's Employment Guarantee," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 233-263, April.
    5. Balwinder-Singh & Andrew J. McDonald & Amit K. Srivastava & Bruno Gerard, 2019. "Tradeoffs between groundwater conservation and air pollution from agricultural fires in northwest India," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(7), pages 580-583, July.
    6. Sayre, Susan Stratton & Taraz, Vis, 2019. "Groundwater depletion in India: Social losses from costly well deepening," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 85-100.
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    Cited by:

    1. Meghna Agarwala & Shampa Bhattacharjee & Aparajita Dasgupta, 2024. "Political Cycles in Crop Residue Burning: Evidence from India," Working Papers 117, Ashoka University, Department of Economics, revised 01 Aug 2024.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crop Residue Burning;

    JEL classification:

    • Q10 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - General
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law

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