Map every farm, assign nodal officer for every 100 farmers: CAQM plan for paddy straw burning

Bathinda: To deal with paddy stubble burning this year, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has directed Punjab, Haryana and NCR areas of Uttar Pradesh to map every farm and assign nodal officers to farmers for monitoring crop residue management.Under the plan, each nodal officer will be linked to a maximum of 100 farmers, while in hotspot villages one officer will monitor only 50 farmers. The directions were issued during a virtual meeting held on Friday under Section 12 of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021.The states have been asked to prepare village-wise mapping of farms based on the proposed mode of stubble management, including crop diversification, in-situ management, ex-situ management and fodder use.The CAQM also directed states to intensify patrolling during late evening hours, citing the tendency of some farmers to burn stubble at night to evade satellite detection. The commission asked states to conduct a comprehensive review of crop residue management (CRM) machines, discard outdated and non-functional equipment, and complete fresh procurement by Aug 2026.The states were also directed to establish custom hiring centres to ensure rent-free access to CRM machines for small and marginal farmers.The commission proposed creation of a dedicated ‘Parali Protection Force' at district and block levels comprising police, agriculture and administrative officials to monitor and prevent incidents of stubble burning.The CAQM also directed states to develop web-based dashboards for real-time district-wise monitoring of crop residue management, including crop area, residue generation, machinery deployment and enforcement action.The commission also stressed strict enforcement measures, including red entries in land records and recovery of environmental compensation from farmers found burning stubble.States have been asked to submit monthly progress reports to the commission on implementation of the action plan.