Will staggered paddy transplantation in Punjab, will Delhi have better air quality?

New Delhi, June 13 With Punjab announcing a staggered schedule for paddy transplantation, will Delhi face a relatively better air quality at the crucial harvest time coinciding with onset of winter this year?

In order to save excess groundwater extraction, for the first time, the Punjab government has declared three different dates for transplantation of paddy for different areas - June 10, 14 and 17. It has also specified timings according to the variety of rice and also the power schedule.

Till last year, there used to be only one date for the whole of the state, which in turn, would result in the harvest time for almost the whole of the state to be around the same time.

Every year, in October, when farmers in Punjab and Haryana start burning their agro-waste after harvesting the paddy, Delhi NCR faces an increased dose of air pollution that continues almost till mid-November.

The Delhi government always blamed Haryana and Punjab even when ample studies have established that the role of agro-waste burning in Delhi NCR's pollution is limited to a few months and does not exceed 45-50 per cent. Delhi NCR has a vast number of its own point sources of pollution.

Asked if it was an instruction from the Commission for Air Quality Management for Delhi NCR and Surrounding Areas

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