Punjab Stubble Burning: CAQM Orders Ground Verification as Farm Fires Reach 5,517

The news

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has directed district authorities in Punjab to assess and verify farmland affected by paddy stubble burning, following a spike in farm fires and concerns over the reliability of burnt-area estimates. The directive was issued during a high-level review meeting chaired by CAQM Chairperson Rajesh Verma on Thursday, November 12, 2026, in three districts: Fatehgarh Sahib, Khanna, and Patiala.

According to satellite monitoring data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), a total of 10,466 paddy residue burning events were recorded across six monitored states and Delhi between September 15 and November 11, 2026, including 874 incidents on November 11 alone. While overall farm fires across the region declined by roughly 19.5% compared to the 13,002 events logged during the same period in 2025, Punjab recorded a 22.4% year-on-year increase, rising from 4,507 incidents in 2025 to 5,517 incidents so far this season, with 515 fires detected on November 11. The surge has been concentrated in districts such as Firozpur (728 events), Tarn Taran (687), Sangrur (628), Bathinda (499), and Patiala (374).

During the review, district authorities were directed to undertake assessment and ground-truthing of burnt areas, monitor ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw, ensure efficient use of crop residue management (CRM) machinery, and intensify information, education and communication (IEC) activities, officials said. In Fatehgarh Sahib, Verma directed officials to step up patrolling and satellite monitoring of fire hotspots, take strict action against violations, and provide support to farmers using CRM machinery. Closer coordination between the civil administration and police was also stressed to ensure a zero-burn season. Verma also visited an edible oil mill in Khanna to review the use of paddy straw as boiler fuel, and industries were urged to increase the use of paddy straw as fuel to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and prevent stubble burning.

Why are burnt-area estimates unverified?

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) stated in an RTI response that estimates of burnt areas in key agricultural states, including Punjab and Haryana, remain 'unverified' and 'unfinalised', and there is no standardised methodology to officially measure the extent of farmland burnt. The CAQM had constituted an expert committee led by the National Remote Sensing Centre in January 2024 to standardise a methodology for mapping burnt areas using satellite imagery, but the protocol remains under validation, with ground-truthing exercises revealing discrepancies between satellite-derived maps and observations on the ground.

What has the monitoring achieved and missed?

Regional fire events fell from 13,002 in 2025 to 10,466 in 2026 over the same monitoring window, while Punjab rose from 4,507 to 5,517. All other monitored states saw sharp year-on-year reductions: Madhya Pradesh dropped 34.9%, Rajasthan fell 12.8%, Uttar Pradesh declined 63.2%, Uttarakhand recorded a 55.6% drop, Haryana fell 50.8%, and Delhi dropped from 4 to 2 incidents. However, fire-event counts and burnt-area estimates measure different things: a count of detected fires cannot itself establish the acreage burnt. Punjab’s cumulative count remains far below earlier years — down from 7,029 in 2024, 23,730 in 2023, and 75,321 in 2020.