category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU Chandigarh The Punjab government Tuesday assured the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) that the state will reduce the number of stubble-burning incidents by 50 percent compared last year. Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua said the state government is taking every step to effectively tackle air pollution. According to an official release here, the plan for paddy crop residue management was discussed at a high-level meeting in view of the coming Kharif harvesting season in Punjab. The meeting, chaired by CAQM chairperson in National Capital Region Dr M M Kutty, was attended by senior officers and all deputy commissioners of the state. The DCs briefed the chairperson about the steps taken by the state government for crop residue management in the state, the release said, adding Kutty was happy with the steps taken by Punjab to curb stubble-burning and congratulated on 30 percent reduction in the number of fire instances. He directed all the DCs to prepare action plans for 2023 in advance. Chief Secretary Janjua assured the meeting that stubble-burning incidents will be reduced by 50 per cent compared to last year. He highlighted the initiatives taken by the state government for managing stubble, including solving issues of ex-situ industries, promoting crop diversification and providing adequate in-situ management machines. He said on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the state government is working on using paddy straw as animal fodder, promoting cotton crop and sowing the short duration varieties of paddy. He further said the state government will also hold an awareness campaign for farmers regarding harmful effects of paddy straw burning especially on the soil fertility. Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman Adarsh Pal Vig briefed the meeting about steps taken by the board to counter air pollution. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary (Power) Tejveer Singh, Secretary Environment Sumer Singh Gurjar, Member Secretary PPCB G S Majithia and all deputy commissioners. (editor dailyworld.in)