*Punjab's Clean Air Initiatives Feature in National Best Practices List*
*Mission Clean Patiala, Air Pollution Control Device at a traditional crematorium, gas-based crematoria in Mandi Gobindgarh and a bio-methanation plant featured among the country’s clean-air best practices*
Chandigarh/Patiala, October 17:The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has earned national recognition for its innovative initiatives to improve air quality, with Mission Clean Patiala, the installation of an Air Pollution Control Device (APCD) at a crematorium in Patiala featuring in the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Compendium of Best Practices under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 2026. A gas-based crematoria in Mandi Gobindgarh and a bio-methanation plant in Gobindgarh are among the other best practices from Punjab.
The recognition highlights Punjab’s efforts to address diverse sources of air pollution through community participation, technology-driven interventions and sustainable waste management. These initiatives demonstrate how local action, institutional collaboration and practical solutions can contribute to the broader national goal of cleaner air.
*Mission Clean Patiala: Making clean surroundings a people’s movement*
Launched by PPCB in collaboration with the District Administration and Municipal Corporation, Patiala, and conceptualised in association with the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), the Mission Clean Patiala has mobilised educational institutions, government departments, organisations and citizens to improve urban cleanliness and strengthen community participation in environmental protection.
Through regular road-cleaning drives, the initiative focuses on removing accumulated waste, discouraging open burning and encouraging responsible waste management. By bringing together students across generations, government agencies and local communities, the campaign seeks to make cleanliness a sustained civic habit rather than an occasional activity.
The initiative also reinforces the link between solid-waste management and air quality: preventing waste accumulation and open burning can help reduce emissions of particulate matter and other harmful pollutants.
*Technology for cleaner traditional cremation*
The installation of an Air Pollution Control Device at a traditional wood-based crematorium in Patiala represents an effort to address particulate emissions while respecting established religious and cultural practices. Implemented as a pilot under NCAP, the intervention is designed to reduce particulate pollution from traditional cremation.
*Cleaner cremation and organic-waste management in Gobindgarh*
The inclusion of gas-based crematoria in Mandi Gobindgarh highlights an alternative approach to reducing reliance on conventional wood-based cremation and addressing associated emissions.
The bio-methanation plant in Gobindgarh representing sustainable urban environmental management, enables biodegradable organic waste processing to generate biogas, helping divert suitable waste from conventional disposal routes and supporting resource recovery. When integrated with effective waste segregation and plant operations, such facilities can contribute to better waste management and reduced environmental impacts.
Together, these initiatives illustrate the importance of addressing air pollution through multiple interventions, ranging from cleaner technologies and waste processing to public participation and preventive action.
The initiative demonstrates how technological solutions can complement existing practices and support cleaner air without disregarding community preferences. It also offers a potential model for assessment and replication in other cities, subject to performance evaluation and local requirements.
*Punjab’s contribution to the national clean-air mission*
The inclusion of these initiatives in CPCB’s NCAP best-practices compendium underscores the value of developing locally relevant solutions that can inform environmental action elsewhere. It also highlights the importance of combining technological interventions with community engagement and sustained implementation.
National recognition for Punjab’s clean-air initiatives reinforces our belief that lasting environmental change comes from combining scientific solutions with people’s participation. From Mission Clean Patiala, which makes cleanliness a shared civic responsibility, to pollution-control technology at traditional crematoria, our focus is on addressing pollution at its source and building models that can be scaled across the state. Our vision is to make Rangla Punjab a reality defined by cleaner air, healthier communities and sustainable development. We will continue to innovate, collaborate and turn environmental commitments into tangible improvements in people’s lives,” says PPCB Chairperson Reena Gupta.
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*MINING DEPT CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL MINING IN FOUR OPERATIONS ACROSS PUNJAB, SEIZES HEAVY MACHINERY AND VEHICLES*
*STRICT ACTION AGAINST ILLEGAL MINING IN PATHANKOT, KAPURTHALA AND SRI ANANDPUR SAHIB*
*MINING DEPT SEIZES POKLAIN MACHINE AND TIPPER LOADED WITH 400 CFT OF GRAVEL IN PATHANKOT; CASE REGISTERED AGAINST STONE CRUSHER OWNER*
*SUSPENDED STONE CRUSHER FOUND OPERATING AND SELLING MINERAL MATERIAL IN PATHANKOT*
*SEPARATE RAID IN KAPURTHALA: SIX TIPPERS, ONE POCLAIN MACHINE, TRACTOR SEIZED AND ONE HELD*
*TWO ILLEGAL MINING CASES EXPOSED IN SRI ANANDPUR SAHIB, POCLAIN MACHINE SEIZED*
*MANN GOVT COMMITTED TO ERADICATING ILLEGAL MINING AND PROTECTING STATE REVENUE: BARINDER KUMAR GOYAL*
*Chandigarh, October 17:* Punjab Mines and Geology Minister Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal today said that the Punjab Government has further intensified its crackdown on illegal mining across the state with four separate enforcement operations in Pathankot, Kapurthala and Sri Anandpur Sahib. The operations resulted in the seizure of heavy machinery and vehicles used in illegal mining, the registration of cases against a stone crusher owner and the arrest of one person.
He informed that in the late-night operation conducted in the Jaswan village area of Pathankot district, the department seized a Poklain machine and an unnumbered tipper loaded with approximately 400 cubic feet (CFT) of gravel.
The Cabinet Minister informed that multiple teams of
District Mining Office, Pathankot conducted inspections in the crusher zone at Jaswan village. During the inspection at Trehan Stone Crusher, the team found a yellow Poklain machine (Model R215L, CR No. N635D01027) being used in illegal mining activity and an unnumbered tipper bearing chassis number MAT569054 TAD12679, loaded with approximately 400 CFT of gravel.
The police took possession of the Poklain machine and the gravel-laden tipper. The case was subsequently registered under Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals Act, 1957, and Sections 303(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Taragarh Police Station.
The Cabinet Minister said that Trehan Stone Crusher had already been suspended by the Executive Engineer, Drainage-cum-Mining and Geology, vide letter No. 5243 dated May 22, 2026. Despite the suspension, the crusher was operating with the help of a generator and selling mineral material. The crusher owner was misleading customers by claiming that the crusher was operating with government approval.
As per the department’s records, the stone crusher is registered in the name of Navjot Singh, son of Khajan Singh, resident of Manwal Bagh village under Shahpurkandi Police Station in Pathankot district, he added.
*SIX TIPPERS, POCLAIN MACHINE, TRACTOR SEIZED AND ONE HELD IN KAPURTHALA RAID*
In a separate operation in Kapurthala district, the Mining Department’s flying squad, along with the local police, raided Khijarpur village and seized six tippers, a Poklain machine and a tractor in connection with the illegal mining activities. Two of the seized tippers were each loaded with approximately 800 cubic feet (CFT) of sand.
An FIR has been registered against Mical, resident of Lamma Pind, Jalandhar and five unidentified persons under Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act at Talwandi Chaudharian Police Station in Kapurthala district.
*TWO ILLEGAL MINING CASES REPORTED IN SRI ANANDPUR SAHIB, POCLAIN MACHINE SEIZED*
Similarly, in Sri Anandpur Sahib district, raids were conducted in village Swara over the last two days to curb illegal mining activities. In the first case, FIR No. 152 dated October 16, 2026, has been registered against the landowner for illegal mining. In the second case, a complaint has been submitted against the landowner and an orange-coloured Poclain machine, make Tata Hitachi EX 110i, being used in illegal mining, has been impounded and handed over to the police.
Mines and Geology Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal said that the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government is committed to curbing illegal mining and taking strict legal action against those found violating mining regulations. He said that the Mining Department is working in close coordination with the police to detect illegal mining activities and bring the offenders to justice.
Strict enforcement of the law is being ensured to prevent losses to the state exchequer and mining operations are being carried out in accordance with the prescribed rules and regulations, said the Cabinet Minister.