Farmer nabbed, 18 booked for stubble burning in Tarn Taran

In a crackdown on the farmers indulging in stubble burning, the district administration registered 18 cases against farmers here on Saturday. One farmer was arrested while others managed to escape from the spot.

Teams of the Agriculture Department and others under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Paramveer Singh visited different villages of the district and booked the farmers for violating the District Magistrate’s orders to not burn paddy stubble in the fields.

Sources revealed that Baljit Singh, a farmer of Dall village, was arrested by the Khalra police for farm fire and the other farmers who violated the orders were identified as Jugraj Singh of Chuslewar village, Sahib Singh of Nabipur village, Kashmir Singh of Surwind, Harpal Singh and Gurmeet Singh of Chabal, Manhohar Singh of Fazalpur village, Sewa Singh of None, Balwant Singh of Pahuwind, Harjinder Singh of kairon, Jagir Singh of Sarai Amanat Khan, Santokh Singh of Valtoha, Kulwant Singh of Naushehra Pannua, Sukhpal Singh Sukha of Thathian Mahantan, Jit Singh and Gurnam Singh both of Khadoor Singh, Satnam Singh of Kairowal , Narinder Singh and his brother Devinder Singh of Mughal Chack Gillan.

Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Harpal Singh Pannu said the police have registered cases under Section 223 of the BNSS against the farmers. The CAO said that the department received 285 locations of farm fires, but of them, farm fires were spotted at 79 spots. The department has imposed a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh to 49 farmers for violating norms. Red entries have been marked in the revenue record of 52 farmers.

Teams of the administration with officials of the Agriculture Department visited the field to check farm fire cases. They were accompanied by NGT officials.