Context

Recently, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change doubled the fines on stubble burning to combat the deteriorating air quality. 

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These penalties were introduced under the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (Imposition, Collection, and Utilisation of Environmental Compensation for Stubble Burning) Amendment Rules, 2024.

Updated penalties for stubble burning are as follows:

• ₹5,000 for farmers with less than 2 acres (previously ₹2,500)
• ₹10,000 for farmers with 2-5 acres (previously ₹5,000)
• ₹30,000 for larger landholders (previously ₹15,000)

The amendment comes amid Supreme Court’s criticism of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for its failure to frame appropriate rules under Section 15 of the CAQM Act.

• Section 15 of the CAQM Act empowers the Commission to collect environmental compensation from farmers who pollute the air by burning stubble. 

Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM)

• The CAQM is a statutory body established under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas, Act 2021.
• The Union Government constituted a “permanent” body, CAQM, in 2020 for the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas after dissolving the Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), constituted in 1998, that previously addressed air pollution in Delhi.
• The Commission works for better coordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index.
• CAQM also holds emergency meetings to maintain AQI in the moderate category.
• It advises citizens to cooperate in implementing the steps mentioned in the Citizen Charter of various Stages of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).