The debate: Have the paddy planting laws fulfilled their purpose?

The debate becomes relevant in the light of a recent paper by ICAR's NAIP, which says over-extraction of groundwater has continued in spite of the two Acts

In a few months, much of North India will be engulfed in a thick blanket of smog due to a combination of factors, one of them being indiscriminate stubble burning. Although stubble burning has come down considerably in the last few years, the problem persists.

Some experts say the limited window between paddy harvest and wheat sowing makes farmers burn their stubble. And one big reason for this limited window is the twin Acts in Punjab and Haryana that prohibit sowing of paddy ahead of a designated time.

The governments of Punjab and Haryana, to arrest falling groundwater levels, brought