Patiala: The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) was conferred the SKOCH Silver Award 2025 in the Environment category for its project titled “From Crisis to Breakthrough – Punjab’s Clean Air Transformation.” This award recognises the state’s sustained efforts in effective stubble burning management and achieving a 92% reduction in farm fire incidents. The honour was presented at the 107th SKOCH Summit, “Governance Transformed,” held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.Over the past five years, Punjab made significant strides in addressing the challenge of stubble burning through coordinated, multi-departmental efforts. This involved a combination of real-time monitoring and enforcement, along with long-term structural interventions. These included the large-scale deployment of crop residue management (CRM) machinery, the strengthening of Custom Hiring Centres, and a substantial increase in the ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw—rising from 8.8 lakh tonnes per annum to over 40 lakh tonnes annually—a transition facilitated significantly by the PPCB.From state initiative to national modelReena Gupta, chairperson of the PPCB, said, “We are honoured to receive this national recognition. It reflects the Punjab govt’s strong commitment to addressing a complex environmental challenge that impacts not just the state but the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain. This achievement is the result of sustained, collective action across multiple stakeholders.” The state continued to build on this momentum with targeted action plans aimed at eliminating stubble burning in the coming years, positioning Punjab as a model for replication across other states.The SKOCH Award was described as highly competitive, involving a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process, including detailed submissions, presentations before an expert jury, and public voting rounds. PPCB’s initiative was selected among several high-impact projects from across the country, underscoring its effectiveness and scalability. This national accolade highlights the success of Punjab’s integrated approach to environmental management, proving that technology and policy can work together to mitigate long-standing ecological crises while improving air quality for the broader region.MSID:: 130144608 413 |
