Overall air quality in Delhi-NCR improving, CAQM report tells SC

The report also said the Centre has already disbursed ₹3,333.17 crore under the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme to tackle crop stubble.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has given a cheery report to the Supreme Court of targets for a substantial reduction in incidents of paddy stubble burning for Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in 2023 even as the national capital is smothered in acrid vapour.

As a result of various review meetings held by the Commission, the State Action Plans for Punjab for the year is “zero stubble burning” in six districts of Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Rup Nagar, SAS Nagar and SBS Nagar. The State is targeting a 50% reduction in the remaining 17 districts. The total fire counts as of October is 24,202. Last year saw 49,922 fires in the State. In neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (National Capital Region), the States had promised “near elimination of paddy stubble burning” compared to 3,661 and 198 fire counts in 2022.

In the report filed through Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, the CAQM maintained that the “overall air quality in Delhi-NCR has witnessed an improving trend since the inception of the Commission”.

“The key parameters for daily average air quality for Delhi for the period between January and September 2023 have been the best in 2023 as compared to the corresponding periods, from 2018 to 2022 (barring the periods of very low anthropogenic, industrial and commercial activities during the COVID-affected year 2020, owing to complete lockdowns),” the report said.

The report also said the Centre has already disbursed ₹3,333.17 crore under the Crop Residue Management (CRM) scheme to tackle crop stubble.

Available data indicates that around 1.17 lakh CRM machines are available in Punjab, 80,071 in Haryana and 7,986 in NCR areas of Uttar Pradesh. This is more than the 90,422, 72,777 and 8,482 machines available in 2022.

However, the early appearance and intensity of the smog cover belie figures in the report, which show that more CRM machines are available this year than the last. Additionally, about 23,000 machines in Punjab, 7,572 in Haryana and 595 in NCR areas of Uttar Pradesh were in the process of being procured during 2023.