That was the message from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to Punjab officials as a high-level team reviewed measures to prevent stubble burning in three districts on Saturday. Targets on paper must translate into action on the ground.
The CAQM team visited several villages in Punjab, where farmers flagged difficulties in using crop residue management machinery to prevent stubble burning.
The team visited Sangrur, Patiala and Malerkotla districts, where it assessed the preparedness of local administrations and interacted with farmers, some of whom flagged difficulties in using crop residue management machinery. The team, comprising CAQM Technical Member Dr SD Attri and Scientist-C Vijay Kumar, held a meeting with Deputy Commissioners, Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), officials of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Agriculture Department and flying squads of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in Sangrur. During a visit to Gharachon, identified as a stubble-burning hotspot in Sangrur, the CAQM team interacted with farmers who highlighted difficulties in using crop residue management machinery. The district administration briefed the team on arrangements made to ensure the availability of such machines to farmers. In Ahmadabad village of Malerkotla, the team witnessed a demonstration of a super seeder, a machine used to manage paddy straw without burning it.
