NEW DELHI: The government aims to utilise 40% of the crop residue generated in Punjab and Haryana for external management, including industrial use, this year. The target will be increased to 60% next year as part of efforts to curb stubble burning and reduce air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.
According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Punjab is expected to generate 7.9 million tonnes of crop residue, of which around 4.5 million tonnes will be managed externally. This residue will be used to meet the mandatory 5% requirement in thermal power plants, while the remaining quantity will be utilised in brick kilns, compressed biogas plants and other applications. Haryana is expected to manage 2.7 million tonnes of crop residue externally.
Meanwhile, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav visited the newly developed Integrated Command and Control Centre (I3C), named PAVAN (Platform for Air Quality Vigilance and Analytics for NCR), in New Delhi.
Yadav reviewed its technological framework and operational readiness. Developed as a single-window digital centre, PAVAN-I3C integrates more than 30 APIs and data streams covering air quality, emissions, meteorological information, satellite data, camera feeds, mobility, complaints and compliance information from multiple agencies in real time.
The platform also consolidates data from 111 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in Delhi-NCR, more than 2,300 industries, over 3,200 active construction sites and traffic congestion hotspots.
Yadav said the priority in tackling regional air pollution was to ensure precise, hyper-local data and complete transparency.
“The launch of the PAVAN-I3C marks a definitive turning point by eliminating operational delays, dismantling data silos, and enabling State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) to work from a single, verified source of information to hold polluters accountable within minutes,” Yadav stated.
He added that non-compliant industries, polluting sources and traffic congestion hotspots would be addressed through the platform. He also announced that construction and demolition (C&D) activities across the NCR region would be suspended from November 5 to 20 to help control pollution.