Air quality worsens in Delhi-NCR: CAQM sends team to Bathinda, steps up Punjab monitoring

New Delhi: Taking serious note of the recent surge in paddy stubble burning in Punjab and the deteriorating air quality in DelhiNCR, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) convened an urgent high-level review meeting on Wednesday to assess the situation in 12 critical districts of Punjab.

The districts include Firozpur, Sangrur, Bathinda, Patiala, Barnala, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Fazilka, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Moga and Mansa. The meeting, chaired by CAQM chairperson Rajesh Verma, was attended by Punjab’s Secretaries of Environment and Agriculture, along with the DCs and SSPs of the identified districts.

To conduct a direct ground evaluation, a specialised CAQM team has also been deployed to Bathinda. During the meeting, the CAQM directed authorities to immediately intensify monitoring and enforcement drives.


Nodal officers were warned of personal accountability and strict statutory action in cases of failure or laxity in preventing farm fires.

To curb stubble burning, the administration was asked to engage local community leaders through confidence-building measures and boost ex-situ paddy stubble aggregation for use in industrial boilers.

The CAQM also directed thermal power plants to strictly adhere to the target of co-firing a minimum of 5% biomass pellets, warning that non-compliant facilities would face immediate legal action.

Emphasising that the recent surge in farm fires must remain an isolated occurrence, the CAQM urged Punjab to replicate Haryana’s stubble management model, which has helped significantly reduce the number of farm fires through strategicplanning.