POLLUTION

Amid Rising Pollution in Delhi-NCR, CAQM Advises Vigilant Monitoring of Farm Fires and Strict Action Against Violators

A farmer burns stubble after the harvest of paddy, at an agricultural field on the outskirts of Amritsar, on Oct 23, 2019. (IANS) — Representational Image
(IANS)

Amid rising levels of air pollution in the national capital and surrounding areas, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has advised the district authorities to ensure verification of all reported farm fire incidents within 48 hours and take strict action against the violators.

Officials said that the Commission has been actively monitoring paddy residue burning events for a month now, from September 15, in the states of Punjab, Haryana and eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh. The current year has so far seen a reduction in fire counts, from 3,431 to 1,695, as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The total number of farm fire incidents reported in Punjab are 1,444 against 2,375 incidents in 2021; in Haryana, the number is 244 as compared to 1,026 in the previous year, and in Uttar Pradesh (NCR), it is five as against 30 fire incidents during the corresponding period of 2021. In Delhi, two fire incidents have been reported this year. No fire incident has been reported from the two NCR districts of Rajasthan.

During the current harvesting season, the first few paddy residue burning incidents have been reported on September 15, September 18, September 30, and October 5 in Punjab, Haryana, and the NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, respectively.

During the review meetings, the district authorities elaborated on the steps to utilise available machinery, IEC activities, especially in all hotspot villages, and interaction with the farmer communities. They further informed that they are keeping a strict vigil on the burning incidents in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.

It was noted that about 31,700 custom hiring centres and cooperatives have been set up in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (NCR), and more than 2 lakh CRM (Crop Residue Management) machinery is available for utilisation in Punjab, Haryana and NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh.

**

The above article has been published from a wire source with minimal modifications to the headline and text.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives.