"CAQM directs NCR states to use drones for stubble burning surveillance"
CAQM
Statutory body under 2021 Parliamentary Act coordinating air quality across Delhi and four NCR states.
Stubble burning
Burning of post-harvest paddy residue; major seasonal contributor to NCR's PM2.5 spikes.
Delhi's air pollution crisis is structurally rooted in its geography and multi-state airshed. Particulate matter — particularly PM2.5 and PM10 — routinely breaches the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), with annual mean limits of 40 µg/m³ and 60 µg/m³ respectively. Winters intensify the crisis through temperature inversions that trap pollutants near the ground, with stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana contributing significantly to seasonal spikes.
The institutional architecture governing NCR air quality has evolved through judicial and legislative action. The Supreme Court's M.C. Mehta v. Union of India series mandated early interventions including CNG conversion of Delhi's bus fleet and led to the court-constituted Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). In 2021, Parliament replaced the EPCA with a statutory body — the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) — under a dedicated Act, giving it binding, enforceable authority over Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Crucially, CAQM's orders override state pollution control boards in case of conflict, making it a rare quasi-federal enforcement mechanism.
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), first notified in 2017 and periodically revised, provides a tiered restriction framework triggered by Air Quality Index (AQI) thresholds. Policy direction has progressively shifted from reactive crisis management toward proactive, pre-emptive governance — a shift this latest directive on drone surveillance further reinforces.
Stubble burning — the practice of setting fire to post-harvest paddy residue to quickly clear fields for the next crop cycle — is a major seasonal contributor to NCR's air quality deterioration. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana burn millions of tonnes of paddy straw each year, generating dense smoke plumes that travel hundreds of kilometres. Despite legal prohibitions and compensation schemes for alternative residue management, enforcement has remained weak, partly because the scale of burning across vast agricultural landscapes overwhelms ground inspection capacity.
Satellite imagery from platforms like NASA's FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) and ISRO's RESOURCESAT has historically been the primary remote-sensing tool for detecting fire events. …
Which of the following statements with regard to drone swarms is/are correct?
1.They use Terahertz band of frequency to communicate with the command centre.
2.Individual drones in the swarm can communicate with other drones in the swarm.
3.GPS Spoofing is a commonly used technique to counter drone swarm attack.
Select the answer using the code given below:
With reference to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), consider the following statements:
I.All types of UAVs can do vertical landing.
II.All types of UAVs can do automated hovering.
III.All types of UAVs can use battery only as a source of power supply.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following activities:
1.Spraying pesticides on a crop field
2.Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
3.Collecting DNA samples from spouting whales for analysis
At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?
With reference to the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), consider the following statements:
1.CAQM was established by an Act of Parliament in 2021.
2.CAQM's jurisdiction includes Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.
3.In case of conflict, CAQM's orders override the directions of state pollution control boards.
4.CAQM was constituted by a Supreme Court order, replacing the EPCA.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
CAQM has directed NCR states to conduct drone surveillance of stubble burning with particular focus on the 3 p.m.–9 p.m. window. What is the primary rationale for this specific timing?
Consider the following statements regarding drone-based monitoring of stubble burning as directed by CAQM:
1.Drones are to be used as a replacement for satellite imagery in detecting fire events.
2.Burning incidents are to be mapped against cadastral maps to enable identification of specific field owners.
3.Drone operations must comply with the Drone Rules, 2021.
4.States have been asked to focus coverage on hotspot villages and fire-prone paddy cultivation areas.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the following correctly distinguishes the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)?
Assertion (A): Drone surveillance is considered more effective than satellite imagery alone for real-time enforcement of stubble burning bans.
Reason (R): Satellites orbit at fixed intervals and altitudes, creating detection gaps that drones with flexible flight schedules can fill.
Which of the following is correct?
Want the full note, Prelims Facts & MCQ answers?
Create a free account — takes less than a minute.
Create free account