A salon and spa is advertised in front of this Sikh’s tractor, even as he drinks his hot malai walah doodh in a stainless steel glass! He coolly lines up his tractor alongside the massive Crop Star NSG 930 combine harvester which creates agricultural magic by instantly converting mature paddy stalks from the fields into harvested rice grains that pour through a chute into the large silo sack in the tractor. It is this crop residue waste that leads to crop burning and the hazardous air pollution levels of early winter in north India. India’s capital is choking under off-the-charts smog, with some parts of the city reporting levels almost five times of those considered "unhealthy". One of the greatest contributors to this smog is ‘stubble burning’ in Northern states like Punjab and Haryana. Stubble burning is the act of removing paddy harvest residue from a field before it can be prepared to sow the next crop of wheat. It is usually required in areas that use ‘combine harvesting’. Combines are the machines that separate the grain and also clean the thus separated grain. However, the problem is that the machine does not cut the plants close enough to the ground and leaves stubble behind which is of no use to the farmer and under pressure to sow the next crop in time the quickest and cheapest solution, is to clear field by burning the stubble. Stubble burning is a major source of emission of Particulate Matter and gaseous pollutants like Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Nitrogen Oxide & Sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which causes adverse health effects like irritation in one's eyes, nose and throat, coughing or wheezing. Due to the polluted environment, people reported waking up during the night because of shortness of breath or a feeling of tightness in the chest. Despite a ban by the National Green Tribunal and the state governments on stubble burning farmers in Punjab and Haryana are top among violators. Stubble burning continues and the farmers who are already under debt, refuse to pay the hefty fines. Traditionally, the leftover stubble was used for thatching and making beds for livestock. However, modern technology has found more effective alternatives for this. The same modern technology has solutions for the stubble burning as well. Biogas can be produced with paddy residue to generate power. The straw can similarly be used to form pellets that serve as the sub-strata for mushroom cultivation, but most people are not aware of these uses. Human beings are the greatest contributing factor to pollution in the environment. Though the stubble left after a crop has been harvested, has several uses, many farmers in India choose instead to burn it as an easy way out, thus adding to the already severe levels of pollution. As said by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his book, “The Brothers Karamazov” “Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to the animals, for they are without sin, while you, with all your greatness, you defile the earth wherev