Overview
- The Commission for Air Quality Management and the Environment Ministry reviewed state Information, Education and Communication plans on Thursday and told states to start engagement from September to prepare for the winter smog season.
- The coordinated campaigns run from September 2026 through March 2027 and target seven sectors: industrial emissions, diesel generator sets, road dust, construction and demolition waste, municipal solid waste, agricultural residue, and vehicular emissions.
- State Pollution Control Boards and the Delhi pollution body are named as nodal agencies to implement the plans and to nominate officers for district-level coordination across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- Punjab and Haryana are concentrating on preventing crop‑residue burning with farmer training, thousands of village camps and demonstrations while Delhi plans regional compliance drives, weekly citizen activities and monthly road‑dust workshops.
- Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav demanded ‘zero‑tolerance’ for non‑conforming industries and publicising violations to fix accountability, and officials say the plans’ impact will hinge on timely enforcement, inter‑state coordination and farmer uptake of residue‑management practices.