CAQM Takes Measures to Prevent Farm Fires in Punjab Amid Rising Incidents

Taking a serious view of the “very high” number of farm fires in Punjab, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Wednesday held a meeting with senior bureaucrats and police officers from 12 districts to review steps to prevent stubble burning. The meeting, held through video conferencing, was presided over by Rajesh Verma, the chairperson of CAQM in NCR and adjoining areas, and attended by the state’s Secretary, Environment; Secretary, Agriculture; and deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs) of 12 districts of the state. Between Monday and Tuesday, Punjab witnessed a single-day spurt of 584 cases. The DCs and SSPs were from Ferozepur, Sangrur, Bathinda, Patiala, Barnala, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Fazilka, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Moga, and Mansa. A high-level CAQM team led by the Member-Technical is already in Bathinda to assess the situation at the ground level. The Commission directed that the monitoring and enforcement drive must be intensified and nodal officers must be held accountable for lack of monitoring and for failure to prevent farm fires. It said action will be taken against laxity. According to data, as of November 3, the cumulative farm fire incidents in Punjab reached 2,196, with Tarn Taran district accounting for the maximum 545.