The New Town authorities will coordinate with residents, birdwatchers, NGOs and police in an attempt to stop people burning stubble and empty grasslands in the township.

Several New Town residents have got in touch with the New Town Kolkata Development Authority and expressed their concerns regarding such fires that not only pollute the environment but also pose a risk of spreading when fanned by the wind.

A WhatsApp group, which will include cops, titled “Air Pollution Resistance Group Party”, will be created where people will be able to share photographs and locations of grasslands that are on fire.

Cops, along with NKDA teams, will coordinate and reach the spot to catch those setting the fires.

Apart from this, NKDA officials and volunteers from various housing societies and blocks in New Town will move on motorcycles to cover all the action areas and look out for those burning grasslands and dumping garbage on empty plots in New Town.

Debashis Sen, the NKDA chairman, said burning stubble and grasslands was a worrying factor in the township.

“It is not clear why people setting these on fire. We are going to start a WhatsApp group and will work in close coordination with the police to find out those who are behind this. This not only increases the pollution level but also increases the risk of the fire spreading,” Sen said.

Although the NKDA has received photographs from residents and sent teams immediately on being alerted, officials could not catch anyone in the act, an NKDA official said.

There are several explanations NKDA officials have come across. “Some of the things we heard are probable while others are hard to believe. They range from people trying to drive away snakes from the grasslands to people trying to steal underground cables by burning the grasslands,” an official said.

The NKDA has received several photographs of stubble being burnt and the photographs have been forwarded to police stations, the official said.

An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said New Town police station, Eco Park police station and Rajarhat police station have been instructed to remain vigilant.