CAQM Team Reviews Paddy Straw Management in Sangrur, Patiala and Malerkotlaਸੀਏਕਿਊਐਮ ਟੀਮ ਨੇ ਸੰਗਰੂਰ, ਪਟਿਆਲਾ ਅਤੇ ਮਲੇਰਕੋਟਲਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਰਾਲੀ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਨ ਦੀ ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਕੀਤੀ

As Punjab's farm fire count climbs, the Centre's air quality watchdog has been on the ground in the state. A high level team of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) reviewed paddy straw management measures in Sangrur, Patiala and Malerkotla districts, IANS reported, citing an official statement. The team, which included Member Technical Dr S. D. Attri and Scientist C Vijay Kumar according to the Press Information Bureau summary, held its review meeting at the District Administrative Complex in Sangrur on October 31 and inspected arrangements during the ongoing harvesting season.

What did the team see in Malerkotla?

In Malerkotla, the officials visited an ex-situ paddy straw use facility on Dhuri Road, a duplex board and paper making unit that burns paddy straw as fuel in a boiler of 20 tonnes per hour capacity. The unit's representatives told the team that about 17,000 metric tonnes of paddy straw would be used in its boiler furnace every year, an example of straw earning money instead of going up in smoke. The team also saw in-situ machinery at work in Ahmadabad village, where the Agriculture Department demonstrated a super seeder, and met farmers who assured the officials they would not burn straw and would manage it with the machines.

What did Sangrur farmers tell the team?

In Sangrur district the team visited Bassiark, Kapial and Jhaneri villages in Bhawanigarh tehsil and Gharachon, a village identified as a stubble burning hotspot, where both ex-situ and in-situ methods were demonstrated. District officials briefed the team on the arrangements made to keep Crop Residue Management machinery available to farmers. Farmers, in turn, explained the difficulties they face in using the machinery, the recurring ground level problem in Punjab's straw story. The review also covered a pelletising unit at Nadampur in Sangrur that turns straw into biomass pellets used as fuel in thermal power plants.

What did CAQM direct?

The Commission asked the departments to continue concerted efforts with close monitoring of stubble burning incidents, and advised officers to ensure effective paddy stubble management as committed in their action plans. In the official statement's words, the actions on the ground should match the targets undertaken by the districts. District administrations presented their preparations for managing straw and controlling fires this season.

Why does this review matter now?

The visit came as Punjab recorded 292 farm fires on October 31, its highest single day count of this season, taking the tally since September 15 to 1,339, as Jugti reported on Saturday. Most of those fires were in the border districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Ferozepur, while the CAQM review covered the Malwa districts where harvesting peaks later and officials expect incidents to rise as wheat sowing begins. Stubble smoke from Punjab and Haryana is a major contributor to Delhi NCR's winter pollution, which is why the statutory Commission, set up under the CAQM Act of 2021, audits the state's preparations every season.

Which districts did the CAQM team review?

Sangrur, Patiala and Malerkotla. The team held its review meeting in Sangrur and made field visits in Sangrur and Malerkotla districts.

How much straw can the Malerkotla unit use?

About 17,000 metric tonnes a year, burned as fuel in the Dhuri Road unit's 20 tonnes per hour boiler, its representatives told the team.