At 1,027, stubble-burning cases in Punjab up 43% for want of checks

Aman Sood

Patiala, October 9

With an increase in stubble-burning incidents across Punjab, smoggy conditions prevail in most villages of the state. The farm fire cases this season are much higher as compared to the past two years, raising eyebrows over expenditure of crores by the government on checking the burning of crop residue.

Fine imposed on 279 farmers

• The Amritsar administration on Monday imposed a fine of Rs 6.97 lakh on 279 farmers for burning crop residue
• ‘Red entries’ have been made in revenue records of 58 farmers. In Jalandhar, 16 FIRs have been registered

On Monday, Punjab recorded 58 stubble-burning cases. With this, the total number of incidents touched the four-figure mark of 1,027 this year.

Hitherto most farm fire incidents were being reported from the border belts. Now farmers in the Malwa region have started burning paddy stubble. This will impact the air quality in Punjab and Delhi too.

According to the data from the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), 58 active stubble-burning incidents were captured by a satellite in the state on October 9. Whereas on the same day in 2021, 114 active fire events were captured and in 2022, there were three such cases.

What is worrisome is the fact that this year’s total tally of 1,027 is far more than the past two years’ corresponding data. In 2022 and 2021, Punjab had reported 714 and 614 incidents, respectively, till October 9. The cases so far are 43.8% more than the last year and 67% more than the 2021 figure (till October 9). In all, 49,900 farm fires were recorded in 2022; 71,304 in 2021; 76,590 in 2020; and 52,991 in 2019.

“Farmers in Sangrur, Patiala and Ludhiana have started harvest and these three districts will add considerably to the farm fire figure by next week,” said an official of the Agriculture Department.

“There is nothing much that can be done as farmers are adamant on Rs 2,500 per acre compensation, but the government hasn’t agreed to it,” experts said. The Amritsar administration imposed Rs 6.97 lakh as fine on 279 for stubble burning.