Syllabus: GS3/Environment
Context
- The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas announced a 19-step directive for state governments to eliminate stubble burning.
About
- The comprehensive plan outlined here represents one of the most robust multi-tiered efforts to curb stubble burning and its associated air pollution across Punjab, Haryana, and NCR Uttar Pradesh.
- The approach integrates administrative accountability, technological innovation, farmer engagement, and legal enforcement.
Key Measures in the CAQM Plan
- Farm-Level Mapping & Nodal Officers: Every farm will be mapped to track stubble management strategies.
- One nodal officer will oversee every 50 farmers to ensure localized monitoring.
- Stubble Management Options:
- In-situ: Mulching, use of bio-decomposers.
- Ex-situ: Baling, storage, and transportation to power plants, packaging industries, brick kilns.
- Crop diversification: Reducing reliance on paddy to lower residue generation.
- Infrastructure & Logistics: Conduct gap analysis of Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery.
- Plan storage for baled straw to prevent fire loss.
- Create district-level supply chains for straw transport and utilization.
- Enforcement & Monitoring: Supreme Court-directed formation of state-level committees headed by Chief Secretaries.
- Monthly compliance reports starting June 1, 2025.
- Launch of an online real-time reporting platform for crop residue data.
- Pilot Project: A common boiler run on paddy straw will be tested in an industrial estate to supply steam—an ex-situ utilization model.
- Enforcement Force: A Parali Protection Force at district and block levels.
- Involvement of police, agriculture, and administrative officers.
- Enhanced evening patrols and citizen-reporting mechanisms.
- Penalties for Non-Compliance: Ensure red entries and impose fines on violating farmers.
| The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) – Formalized through the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021. – Jurisdiction: Covers Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh — especially areas contributing to air pollution in the NCR. – CAQM is meant to provide an integrated and permanent mechanism for: 1. Coordinated response to air pollution. 2. Ensuring synergy across different ministries and states. 3. Replacing the fragmented approach that involved multiple agencies with overlapping responsibilities. |
Conclusion
- The CAQM’s plan is a comprehensive, enforcement-backed strategy to curb stubble burning by mapping farms, promoting in-situ and ex-situ solutions, strengthening supply chains, and introducing strict monitoring through nodal officers and a dedicated enforcement force.
- With real-time tracking, monthly reporting, and legal oversight, it aims to provide a lasting solution to the recurring air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR.
Source: IE
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