Barnala AQI hits 1,104 as Sirsa blames Punjab farm fires for Delhi’s smog - 'Rs 5,000 crore for machines went unused'

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Punjab’s Barnala recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 1,104 on Friday morning, as farm fires in the state came under fresh attack from the Delhi government.

On Thursday, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused the AAP-led Punjab government of misleading people about stubble burning, alleging that a sharp rise in farm fires in the neighbouring state had worsened the capital’s air quality, PTI reported.

Speaking at the Integrated Command and Control Centre in Shastri Park, Sirsa said Delhi’s AQI rose from 117 on October 31 to 377 on November 4, at the same time as a sharp increase in farm fires in Punjab.

584 fires in a day

Punjab recorded 584 farm fires on November 3 alone, up from 98 the day before, taking the total to 2,196 between October 29 and November 3, Sirsa said. According to the Decision Support System (DSS), stubble burning contributed an estimated 20.2 per cent to Delhi’s pollution on November 4, he said.

Countering Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s claim that paddy harvesting had not yet picked up, Sirsa said the Punjab government’s own figures showed 77.38 per cent of the paddy area had been harvested by November 2.

He also questioned Mann’s claim that smoke from Punjab did not reach Delhi, recalling a press conference on November 4, 2022, where the chief minister had taken responsibility for tackling stubble burning. Sirsa alleged that despite four years of assurances, the Punjab government had failed to curb farm fires.

494 FIRs, no action against officials

Sirsa questioned the accountability of officials, saying that while 494 FIRs had been registered in connection with the 2,196 farm fires, no chargesheets or suspension orders had been reported against nodal or supervisory officials, according to figures he cited.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued notices to the deputy commissioners of Bathinda, Faridkot, Fazilka and Jalandhar, and to Barnala’s Senior Superintendent of Police, over alleged lapses in preventing stubble burning, he said. The commission also held a review meeting with senior administrative and police officials from 12 districts of Punjab after the sudden spike in fires.

‘Rs 5,000 crore released for machines’

Accusing the Punjab government of failing to give farmers adequate alternatives, Sirsa said the Centre had released Rs 5,000 crore for machinery such as happy seeders and balers, but the state had not ensured they were available on time.

He said the sudden drop in Delhi’s air quality could not be explained by any major rise in construction, industrial pollution or polluting vehicles entering the city, and attributed it partly to smoke from Punjab carried by winds linked to western disturbances.

Sirsa said the Delhi government had stepped up pollution-control measures, including mechanised road sweeping, water sprinkling, anti-smog guns, construction site inspections and action against open burning. Officials are monitoring pollution hotspots, construction, road dust and waste management round the clock from the Integrated Command and Control Centre, he said.

The minister also apologised to NCR residents inconvenienced by the ban on non-BS-VI vehicles entering Delhi, and urged them to cooperate. Vehicle emissions from neighbouring areas also add to Delhi’s pollution, he said, appealing to people to use public transport and follow emission norms.

The AAP did not immediately respond, PTI reported.