As much integral to Delhi rise as a rich city as the old Urdu-speaking gentry or the farming land-owning community from what is today Haryana and UP. Maharashtra was created after protests by the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement for a Marathi-speaking state. In fact, 106 people were also martyred in police firing during the agitation in 1955. Therefore, these are very sensitive issues. Unnecessarily, even if unwittingly, pitting Marathis against other communities must be avoided there enough ugly politics around it already. Mumbai, and all major Indian cities, face major challenges that have nothing to do with measuring ethnic contributions. And most leaders, across parties and irrespective of posts they hold, seem quite unmindful of this. Delhi government support for Punjab proposed Rs 2,500 per acre cash incentive to paddy farmers to curb stubble burning will require Centre handholding. AAP governing Punjab and Delhi has helped the two governments strike a consensus. Both are willing to contribute Rs 500 each and expect GoI to foot the remaining sum. But Haryana, another farm fire contributor, has to be roped in too. Not just Delhi, Haryana cities like Gurgaon and Faridabad, and UP cities like Noida and Ghaziabad are affected by air quality dips due to stubble burning. Given the multi-state stakes, Delhi position as the national capital, and the economic centrality of Delhi-NCR, GoI intervention can resolve policy tangles. GoI Commission for Air Quality Management tackling NCR air pollution woes had a dismal start last year. There no room for petty politicking on AAP proposal. Time is limited; stubble burning peaks in October. Also, given the manifest disinterest of farmers towards various straw management machines, and the bio-decomposer jointly developed by ICAR-IARI and pesticide company UPL showing promise, the latter option must be prioritised alongside the cash incentive. And farmers pocketing the sop must be penalised if they still burn stubble. Another man-made threat on the northern plains is the fast-changing Himalayan ecology. With its glaciers and pristine forests, Uttarakhand is a catchment area for the north two main rivers, Ganga and Yamuna. But th As much integral to Delhi rise as a rich city as the old Urdu-speaking gentry or the farming land-owning community from what is today Haryana and UP. Maharashtra was created after protests by the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement for a Marathi-speaking state. In fact, 106 people were also martyred in police firing during the agitation in 1955. Therefore, these are very sensitive issues. Unnecessarily, even if unwittingly, pitting Marathis against other communities must be avoided there enough ugly politics around it already. Mumbai, and all major Indian cities, face major challenges that have nothing to do with measuring ethnic contributions. And most leaders, across parties and irrespective of posts they hold, seem quite unmindful of this. Delhi government support for Punjab proposed Rs 2,500 per acre cash incentive to paddy farmers to curb stubble burning will require Centre handholding. AAP governing Punjab and Delhi has helped the two governments strike a consensus. Both are willing to contribute Rs 500 each and expect GoI to foot the remaining sum. But Haryana, another farm fire contributor, has to be roped in too. Not just Delhi, Haryana cities like Gurgaon and Faridabad, and UP cities like Noida and Ghaziabad are affected by air quality dips due to stubble burning. Given the multi-state stakes, Delhi position as the national capital, and the economic centrality of Delhi-NCR, GoI intervention can resolve policy tangles. GoI Commission for Air Quality Management tackling NCR air pollution woes had a dismal start last year. There no room for petty politicking on AAP proposal. Time is limited; stubble burning peaks in October. Also, given the manifest disinterest of farmers towards various straw management machines, and the bio-decomposer jointly developed by ICAR-IARI