The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas on Thursday, 22 October declared that its core objective is to transform crop residue into an 'economic asset' for farmers — by channelling stubble into industrial use rather than letting it go up in smoke. The statement came from CAQM Member Secretary Tarun Kumar Pithode after a review meeting with the governments of Punjab and Haryana.

Key Developments from the Review Meeting

The meeting covered a wide range of air quality measures across both states. For Haryana, directions issued by Chief Minister Nayab Saini were reviewed, including a mandate that the industrial sector comply with the prescribed particulate norm of 50 micrograms from 1 November. The vehicular sector was also examined, covering transition plans for trucks and bus replacement schemes.

Road development and mechanised sweeping were assessed as well — specifically how many cleaning machines had been procured, deployed, and put to effective use. Pithode confirmed that further directions have been issued to the state.

Punjab Fire Counts: Improvement Overall, Hotspots Remain

For Punjab, the review focused squarely on stubble management, conducted district-wise with all Deputy Commissioners. While the overall picture has improved relative to previous years, Pithode flagged a sharp rise in fire counts in Tarn Taran and Amritsar as a 'matter of serious concern.'

'Stubble needs to be managed in such a way that there is no need for these fire counts to rise at all,' he said. He also acknowledged a data-gap challenge: one dataset tracks burnt-area assessment continuously, while another records fire counts — and fires that occur outside detection windows go unregistered. 'The truth lies somewhere between these datasets,' he noted.

The Industrial Ecosystem Approach

At the centre of CAQM's strategy is building a supply chain that absorbs the entire volume of crop residue. Pithode pointed to pellet-manufacturing plants, use in thermal power plants, and production of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) as viable industrial outlets. He said that if balers and Crop Residue Management (CRM) machines are made available in sufficient numbers, the need to burn stubble disappears entirely.

'Our emphasis today was entirely on how stubble can be effectively managed: ensuring adequate storage facilities and establishing industries that can utilise it, generate employment, and expand industrial activity,' he said.

Subsidies and Schemes Already in Place

Several support schemes are already operational, offering substantial subsidies on balers and other machinery specifically to Punjab and Haryana. Pithode stressed the need for their effective implementation rather than merely announcing them. He reiterated that once a robust industrial ecosystem is in place, crop residue will no longer be a disposal burden — it will be a revenue stream for farmers.

With the peak stubble-burning season now underway, the effectiveness of these measures will be tested in the coming weeks.