Overview

• CAQM chairperson Rajesh Verma led back-to-back reviews with officials from 23 Punjab districts and 22 Haryana districts on stubble-burning preparedness.
• Flying squads will monitor hotspot districts at field level and a dedicated CAQM cell at Kheti Bhawan in Mohali will coordinate actions between the two states.
• Punjab was told to close gaps in crop residue management machinery, enable inter-district movement of balers, align equipment deployment with harvest patterns, and step up Parali Protection Force evening patrols.
• Haryana was directed to plug machinery shortfalls, create safe storage for paddy straw bales with training to prevent fires, offer insurance options to farmers and aggregators, and take strict action against burners.
• Both states were asked to prevent open burning of municipal waste and biomass in urban areas and to enforce compliance with a mix of incentives and penalties, with CAQM committing to frequent progress reviews and faster biomass co-firing.