CAQM serves show-cause notices on Gurdaspur and Kapurthala officials as Punjab leads farm-fire count
3 November 2026
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued show-cause notices to the Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police of Gurdaspur and Kapurthala districts in Punjab over a rise in paddy stubble burning. The officials must reply by November 6, explaining the increase and the steps they took. The notices came as Delhi's AQI touched 350, its worst reading in 287 days. Between September 15 and November 2, Punjab recorded 1,612 of the 3,535 stubble-burning incidents across six states, the highest of any state. The commission also flagged a sharp rise in Tarn Taran. This season's farm fires are tracked by satellite by the CREAMS laboratory of the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute. The Centre's Crop Residue Management scheme subsidises machines such as Happy Seeders, balers and mulchers.
In plain words
CAQM Commission for Air Quality Management — The statutory body that manages air quality in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas.
SSP Senior Superintendent of Police — The officer who heads the police of a district.
AQI Air Quality Index — A single number that sums up how polluted the air is; above 400 is 'severe'.
CREAMS Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space — An ICAR-IARI laboratory that tracks crop-residue fires by satellite.