New Delhi, July 29 -- The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR has asked Punjab and Haryana governments to start procuring drones for the harvest season to detect crop-residue burning in realtime, a senior official aware of the matter said. CAQM had carried out a pilot project in Patiala district in May, which found visuals to be clear and accurate, allowing them to pinpoint farm fire incidents, the official added. A standard operating procedure for using drones, including the number needed to be procured per village or district, will be issued soon, with initial focus to only be around crop burning hotspots in these two states, the official said. "The pilot project, which was initially planned in three districts, was only carried out in Patiala in May, but was successful. We were able to use drones to get clear visuals from a good height, which can allow real-time action against those burning stubble," the official said. P3...