Farm Fires In Punjab, Haryana Lowest In 5 years: Air Quality Body

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Monday that incidents of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana reached their lowest levels during the 2025 paddy harvesting season, with Punjab recording 5,114 cases and Haryana 662 between September 15 and November 30.

Punjab's numbers dropped 53 per cent from 2024, 86 per cent from 2023, 90 per cent from 2022 and 93 per cent from 2021.

Haryana registered a 53 per cent drop from 2024, 71 per cent from 2023, 81 per cent from 2022, and 91 per cent from 2021, marking the sharpest decline since CAQM began tracking State-specific crop residue management efforts.

The sustained reduction in farm fires has limited the potential "episodic" deterioration in Delhi-NCR's air quality from stubble-burning contributions this season, the CAQM said in a statement.

The commission attributed the decline to state and district-specific action plans, large-scale use of crop residue management machines, strict enforcement measures, expanded ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw and steps such as biomass-based energy generation, use of paddy straw in industrial boilers, bio-ethanol production and mandatory co-firing in thermal power plants and brick kilns.

Additionally, the CAQM highlighted that continuous coordination among state agriculture departments, district administrations, and the CAQM facilitated timely corrective action whenever significant fire events occurred.

Ground-level inspections by flying squads, the Parali Protection Force, field officers and teams stationed across hotspot districts, along with focused awareness campaigns for farmers, also contributed to the improvement.

A dedicated CAQM cell has been established in Chandigarh for round-the-year monitoring of paddy stubble management and related pollution activities, the statement added.

The CAQM noted that with consistent and strengthened implementation and the goal of eliminating paddy straw burning in Punjab, Haryana and the NCR, further improvement in the region's air quality is expected in the coming years.

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