Delhi's air quality improved significantly on Tuesday amid a sharp decline in farm fires in Punjab over the last two days
The fact is Delhi is also part of the pollution problem - its sources of combustion add to the pollution of neighbouring states and theirs to Delhi
Special incentives for small farmers to scale up adoption of paddy stubble management measures and an increase in area under short-duration crop varieties are key recommendations of a new study
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The commission recently heard the responses of the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with its suo motu cognizance of unabated air pollution in Delhi- NCR
The state had reported 71,091 such incidents during the same period in 2020
An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe"
The Commission has asked the chief secretaries concerned to remain present again either in person or hybrid mode on November 18 for the next hearing on the matter
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Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers are also not allowed to operate
The commission said that incidents of stubble burning should be strictly curtailed. It said that if the situation was not improved, a heavy penalty would be imposed on Punjab
These microscopic toxins cause a range of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancers
"Some matters, courts can look into and some it cannot. Since they are not judicially amenable... We have heard you and it would not be taken up now, the CJI said.
A smoky haze had lowered the visibility levels to 800 metres at these places on Tuesday
Currently, the districts in the Malwa region are reporting a rising number of stubble-burning incidents
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said incidents of stubble burning have risen by 160 per cent in Rajasthan and 20 per cent in Punjab from October 2021 to October this year
Industry players and farmers said there were other reasons for the slower-than-targeted adoption
Pollution control needs a holistic approach
Twelve districts of Punjab and Haryana, covering three lakh acres of farmland of 50,000 farmers in 300 villages, has resulted in over 84 per cent reduction in stubble burning
The number of paddy stubble burning incidents rose 16 per cent to 2,817 in Punjab on Nov 5 over the previous day even as the Centre urged farmers to use bio-decomposers for crop residue management