Around 88 per cent of 3,78,425 acres of farmland across Punjab and Haryana were saved from stubble burning in the 2025 season through HDFC Bank’s CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative Parivartan, implemented in partnership with CII Foundation.Terming it a landmark milestone in crop residue management, a media statement said the programme reached 86,000 farmers across more than 380 villages in Ludhiana and Sangrur districts of Punjab and Fatehabad district of Haryana.Launched in Ludhiana in October 2023 and expanded to Sangrur and Fatehabad in 2024, the three-year programme is implemented by CII Foundation across 380 villages. To date, eight villages have eliminated stubble burning entirely, and 174 have achieved over 90 per cent non-burning compliance.Systemic challengeQuoting Nusrat Pathan, Head (CSR), HDFC Bank, the statement said stubble burning is not simply an agricultural habit but a systemic challenge rooted in economics, access, and awareness. HDFC Bank Parivartan’s partnership with CII Foundation has addressed all three dimensions simultaneously.“By making machinery accessible to farmers through cooperative tool banks, driving behaviour change through sustained community engagement, and introducing ex-situ solutions like biogas and composting, we have built a model that delivers environmental outcomes alongside real savings for farmers. On World Environment Day, we reaffirm our commitment to scaling this impact further,” Pathan said.Chandrakant Pradhan, Lead (Climate Resilience), CII Foundation, said: “What makes this programme exceptional is the depth of community ownership it has generated. Farmers who once had no alternative to burning now champion in-situ management and actively encourage their neighbours. Across villages in Ludhiana, Sangrur and Fatehabad, farmers in large numbers have moved on from the practice of open field burning of paddy straw for years, to become harbingers of a zero burning movement just within two to three years, a testament to what becomes possible when communities are equipped, educated, and trusted to lead change.”Published on June 5, 2026