Every October, a familiar haze settles over the Indo-Gangetic plain — and this year, Punjab is pushing harder than ever to stop it at the source. On Wednesday, 21 October 2026, the Chief Minister's Office of Punjab announced that Reena Gupta, Chairperson of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), visited village Sheron, Tehsil Sunam, District Sangrur, to meet paddy farmers directly and appeal for a complete halt to paddy straw burning during the ongoing harvesting season.

What Reena Gupta Heard in Sheron — and What She Asked For

The visit was not a directive from above — it was a conversation. Gupta sat with farmers to understand the real-world challenges they face in managing paddy straw after harvest, before urging them to commit to zero burning this season. The message from the state was unambiguous: scientific residue management, not fire, is the only acceptable path forward.

Officers from the Agriculture Department, Punjab briefed the gathering on the machinery available to them — both in-situ options (such as happy seeders that mulch straw back into the soil) and ex-situ options (such as balers that collect straw for use elsewhere). Critically, the department confirmed that cluster officers and nodal officers have been specifically designated in the village to help farmers access and operate Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery without bureaucratic delay. By the end of the meeting, farmers of village Sheron had given their assurance: no paddy straw would be burnt in their village this season.

The Policy Engine Behind the Outreach

This ground-level engagement is part of a broader, multi-agency push. The Punjab Government and PPCB are coordinating with the Agriculture Department and district administrations across the state to scale up residue management. The architecture traces back to the central Crop Residue Management scheme launched in 2018, which has channelled subsidies for happy seeders, balers, and other machinery to Punjab farmers specifically to break the stubble-burning cycle.

Stubble burning in Punjab is not a local nuisance — it is a regional air-quality emergency. Every October and November, farm fires on the Indo-Gangetic plain drive dangerous spikes in particulate matter across northern India. Satellite-based fire-count monitoring by state and central pollution boards tracks every ignition in near real time, meaning accountability for this season's outcomes will be measurable and public.

Why a Village Visit Matters More Than a Circular

The choice to send the PPCB Chairperson personally to a single village in Sangrur signals something deliberate: enforcement alone has not solved this problem. Farmers cite economics and logistics — straw is voluminous, machinery windows are tight, and the harvest-to-sowing turnaround leaves little time. The designation of village-level nodal officers is a direct response to that bottleneck, putting help within walking distance rather than a phone queue away.

The assurance given by Sheron's farmers is a small but concrete pledge — and a template the administration clearly hopes to replicate across Punjab's paddy belt as harvest pressure peaks.