Ministry of Environment and Forests has asked Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan government to launch an intensive drive to monitor burning of crop residue and biomass and take action against the violators. The Ministry has asked states to make use of satellite-based remote sensing technology to monitor crop residue management. <br/><br/>In the letters written to the states, Environment Secretary Ashok Lavasa reminded them that the ministry had issued advisories in the past asking the states to curb open burning of crop residue and biomass in fields and it appears that both the advisory as well as the measures contained in the National Policy for Management of Crop Residue, 2014, have not been implemented which is leading to occurrence of smog in the National Capital Region. <br/><br/>He said the satellite images clearly indicated that measures taken by governments to discourage the burning of crop residue in fields are not effective which is resulting in severe air pollution in the northern part of the country. <br/><br/>Biomass burning is one of the major causes of air pollution during winters, leading to deterioration of air quality in North India. This aggravates respiratory problems among people. This year also, the practice has led to smog in the Delhi-NCR belt.