CAQM reviews Punjab farm-fire surveillance during drone rollout

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) reviewed farm-fire prevention in Punjab’s Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts during field visits on October 9–10, 2026. An October 10 government release records a meeting with district officials in Amritsar that day; The Times of India also reported the visit while describing the review of drone surveillance.

According to Kushagra Dixit’s October 11 Times of India report, officials plan around 80–90 drones across Punjab’s farm-fire hotspots this winter. Surveillance has begun in some areas, but deployment remains incomplete. A senior CAQM official told the newspaper that permissions were pending for some villages near the Pakistan border and operations had not begun in Patiala.

The drones are intended to cover a timing gap in satellite monitoring. The newspaper describes polar-orbiting satellite overpasses between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. IST. CAQM’s July 28 directive had already called for drone surveys focused on 3–9 p.m., citing reports of later burning intended to evade satellite detection.

The new field review also covered crop-residue machinery and ground surveillance. In its October 10 release, CAQM called for continuous monitoring by district and local officers, including low-cost sensors and other methods in hotspots. It recorded flying squads operating in 18 Punjab districts from October 1 through November 30.

The current development is the field review and reported partial rollout. The July drone directive predates it. Neither the government release nor the newspaper report provides an operational drone total or a measured improvement in farm-fire detection.