Stubble burning: DMs to act against officials not doing enough

The Central government’s Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has empowered District Magistrates to take legal action against officials failing to enforce restrictions on stubble burning in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Residue cases

Announcing the move on Saturday, the CAQM said that from September 15 to October 9, 267 and 187 crop residue cases were reported from Punjab and Haryana respectively and that it has been taking measures to eliminate “the unsustainable agricultural practice”.

On September 27, the Supreme Court pulled up the commission, which is responsible for air quality management in the NCR, questioning its effectiveness in curbing pollution and saying that the CAQM’s directions have only a temporary impact on violators.

Teams deployed

Following this, on October 1, the commission deployed 26 teams in as many districts of Punjab and Haryana to check the incidents of stubble burning. It had also announced the setting up of a “Paddy Stubble Management Cell” in Chandigarh during the harvesting season to closely coordinate with the Agriculture Department and other agencies concerned in the two States.

Published - October 13, 2024 02:16 am IST