Patiala News:Six flying squads to monitor and prevent stubble-burning incidents in Patiala

– Joint teams comprising civil administration and police officers to visit villages daily

– Teams to remain on the ground to promptly prevent fire incidents and extinguish fires in the fields

To prevent incidents of paddy stubble burning in Patiala district and further strengthen the monitoring mechanism, Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal has constituted six flying squad teams. Comprising officers from the civil administration and the police department, these teams will conduct daily visits to different areas of the district to keep a close watch on stubble-burning incidents.

In compliance with the directions of the Deputy Commissioner, the orders issued by Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development) Damanjit Singh Mann state that the initiative has been undertaken to ensure adherence to the guidelines issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).

As per the orders, separate flying squad teams have been constituted for Nabha, Patiala, Patran, Samana, Rajpura and Dudhan Sadhan areas. Each team comprises an officer from the civil administration along with a police officer to ensure coordinated monitoring and necessary action in the respective areas.

For Nabha Sub-Division, the team comprises Additional Excise and Tax Commissioner Isha Singal and SP Traffic Ashok Kumar. For Patiala Sub-Division, ADC (Urban Development) Navreet Kaur Sekhon and SP City Mohit Aggarwal have been assigned the responsibility. The team for Patran comprises District Development and Panchayat Officer Mohinderjit Singh and SP Investigation Rajesh Chhibber, while Additional Chief Administrator, PDA Patiala, Paramdeep Singh and SP Investigation Rajesh Chhibber will oversee Samana Sub-Division. For Rajpura, AMD PRTC Navdeep Kumar and DSP Cyber Crime Gurveer Singh have been appointed, while Regional Transport Officer Poonampreet Kaur and SP Traffic Ashok Kumar will supervise Dudhan Sadhan Sub-Division.

These teams will monitor the functioning of cluster and field nodal officers to prevent stubble-burning incidents and undertake daily patrolling in villages. Besides reviewing the measures being taken for effective stubble management and proper handling of crop residue, they will also motivate farmers to refrain from burning paddy stubble.

The orders clearly stipulate that whenever an incident of stubble burning is reported in any field, the concerned flying squad must immediately reach the spot, extinguish the fire and ensure that all further necessary action is taken. Furthermore, daily reports along with photographs of fire incidents must be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner’s office by 3 PM every day.

The District Administration has further intensified its monitoring drive to ensure strict compliance with government guidelines on stubble management and protect the environment from pollution with the active cooperation of farmers.