32 farmers booked for stubble burning in Yamunanagar so far

As many as 32 FIRs have so far been registered against farmers for allegedly burning paddy residue in their fields in Yamunanagar district in the current harvesting season.

Dr Satish Kumar Arora, Assistant Plant Protection Officer (APPO), Yamuanagar, said a fine was also imposed on the farmers against whom FIRs were registered. He further said a fine of Rs 35,000 was deposited by farmers in 14 of the total 32 cased.

“There was a provision to impose a fine of Rs 2,500 against each case of stubble burning. However, the Government of India has now issued a notification regarding the increased environmental compensation charges, which are double the previous charges,” said APPO Dr Arora.

He said the department had also made red entries in 61 khasra numbers of agricultural land of 32 farmers on the Meri Fasal Mera Byora (MFMB) portal stopping them from selling their crops in grain markets of the state for allegedly burning stubble.

Dr Aditya Pratap Dabas, Deputy Director, Agriculture, Yamunanagar, said they had taken the task of stopping farmers from burning the paddy residue. He said after getting information of active fire locations, the committee formed by Deputy Commissioner Captain Manoj Kumar inspected the sites immediately and took action if stubble burning was found on the spot.

“Stubble burning is a crime as it causes harm to the environment as well as to the fertility of the agricultural land. Therefore, the farmers should not burn residue,” said Dr Dabas. APPO Dr Satish Kumar Arora further said they had got a total 110 cases of active fire locations through HARSAC and other sources in the paddy season last year.

He said during the spot checking, the team found 58 cases of active fire location, but no case of crop residue burning was found at 52 locations. He added that the department imposed a fine of Rs 1.45 lakh (Rs 2,500 on every farmer) in 58 cases last year.