New Delhi: Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has asked Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to use drones ahead of the winter to detect stubble burning incidents in real time, particularly during the late-evening hours when attempts to evade satellite detection are more likely.In 2024, TOI reported that farmers had shifted the timing of stubble burning to avoid satellite overpass times. A report by International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology last Dec revealed that the polar-orbiting monitoring satellites pass over north India between 10.30am and 1.30pm, and India’s official stubble-burning data misses more than 90% of large farm fires.Asking the chief secretaries of the four states to adopt drone-based surveillance, CAQM Tuesday said, “While a consistent decline in stubble burning incidents has been observed over the years due to targeted efforts of the states and implementation of the standard monitoring protocol developed by ISRO/IARI under the guidance of CAQM, there have been reports of stubble burning during late-evening hours to evade satellite-based detection. In view of this, the commission has highlighted the need for a more robust, real-time and technology-driven surveillance mechanism to ensure complete elimination of crop residue burning.”CAQM has directed that all drone-captured monitoring videos should be retained in a central database of the respective state govt till three months after the related harvesting season. All videos, including live-streaming feeds, should be submitted to CAQM.The commission has recommended deployment of drones equipped with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based positioning, geofencing, return-home functionality, flight-data logging and high-resolution RGB camera capable of capturing geotagged images and videos with live-streaming capability, geotagged imagery or videos of burning sites, smoke plumes, fresh or old burnt areas and surrounding field boundaries. The move follows a pilot project conducted by CAQM in Patiala district in May, where drone footage was found to be clear enough to identify farm fire locations, an official said.“The states have been asked to submit an action-taken report on the implementation of these measures by Aug 14,” said CAQM.“The satellite imagery is available only with one-day lag and is limited to two passes a day. Burnt area data is received only once every 15 days, making it unsuitable for immediate enforcement. By the time that data reaches us, the stubble burning incidents in those locations have already ended, with farmers tilting their fields when the teams reach there,” said a senior official.“Several farmers are using machinery to remove stubble, but they continue to burn the remaining three-to-four-inch-long stubble residue. There is a perception that the leftover residue contains pesticide, making farmers hesitant to mix it back into the soil. However, through our IEC activities, we will create awareness among farmers,” said the official.The farm fire counts peak in the kharif stubble-burning season, which severely impacts Delhi’s air quality. From Sept 15 to Nov 30, Punjab reported 5,114 farm fires last year, down from 10,909 in 2024, while Haryana recorded 662 incidents compared with 1,406.
