As Punjab continues to face criticism for its role in Delhi’s worsening air pollution, Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Chairman Rajesh Verma on Thursday said that a stubble revolution was now taking shape in the state.
The remark comes amid growing debate over farm fires in north India, which are often cited as a major contributor to the national capital’s toxic smog.
Verma, along with CAQM Member Secretary Tarun Kumar Pithode, visited the Rajpura thermal power plant to review the use of biomass pellets blended with coal and to evaluate the ongoing stubble management efforts in Patiala district.
Verma said paddy straw had now emerged as a source of income for farmers. He remarked that following the Green Revolution, Punjab’s farmers were
leading a “paddy stubble revolution”, reflected in the sharp decline in stubble burning incidents this year compared to previous seasons.
He recalled his visit to Punjab on November 13, 2024 and said, “At that time, smoke was visible everywhere, but today the sun is shining bright. Even fireworks were seen during Gurpurb celebrations yesterday, a sign of clearer skies.”
A group of farmers under the banner of Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Malwai) staged a protest on Thursday, alleging that police stopped them from meeting the CAQM Chairman at a bio-energy plant near Khandeabad village in Sangrur.
The farmers said they had sought to discuss stubble management concerns and demand the withdrawal of FIRs and fines imposed on them, but were denied access. Later, the CAQM team visited the Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat.
Punjab Witnesses 351 Farm Fires
Punjab recorded 351 farm fires on Thursday, raising the total number of such incidents to 3,284 since September 15, according to official data. Most cases of crop residue burning were reported from Sangrur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Amritsar, and Bathinda districts, as per figures from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for the rise in air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
Fines amounting to Rs 71.80 lakh have been imposed as environmental compensation in 1,367 cases so far, of which Rs 37.40 lakh has been collected, according to the PPCB.
The data also showed that 1,092 FIRs have been registered against farm fire incidents during this period under section 223 (disobedience of order promulgated by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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