Punjab: CAQM team reviews steps against stubble burning in Moga 

New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) A delegation of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) visited Punjab’s Moga district on Friday to review the ground-level implementation of measures to prevent stubble burning during the harvesting season.

Led by T.S. Panwar, Member (Technical), the delegation assessed the implementation of preventive measures at hotspot locations and emphasised the need for continuous monitoring, an official statement said.

The delegation held discussions with district officials and undertook field visits to selected hotspot villages in Moga to assess the prevailing situation, review the preparedness of the district administration and assess coordination among the departments concerned. 

The team reviewed the measures being undertaken for effective in-situ and ex-situ management of paddy residue, including the availability and deployment of CRM machinery, field-level surveillance and coordination among the concerned stakeholders.

Panwar-led team also inspected the effective field-level coordination and timely action to prevent stubble burning incidents during the ongoing harvesting season.

The visit was part of CAQM’s continued monitoring and review of paddy harvesting season management measures in hotspot districts of Punjab, the statement said.

In a separate development, the CAQM strengthened the mechanism for remote monitoring of air-polluting industries in the National Capital Region (NCR) by extending the requirement for installation and operationalisation of Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras to all categories of industries covered under Statutory Direction No. 98.

This will expand the scope of technology-enabled monitoring of fuel usage, industrial emissions and compliance with prescribed pollution-control measures. The Order supersedes the Commission’s earlier Order dated October 5, 2026, said the statement.

The Commission directed that all 17 categories of highly polluting industries identified by CPCB, Red Category (Medium and Large) air-polluting industries, Food & Food Processing and Textile industries having boilers/thermic fluid heaters, and Metal industries having furnaces, operating in NCR, shall ensure compliance with the following requirements, it said.

All industrial units covered under this Order shall ensure installation and operationalisation of the requisite PTZ cameras, including arrangements for real-time transmission of video feeds, by November 30, the statement said.

--IANS

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