Farm fires reduced considerably between Sept and Nov, Punjab tells National Green Tribunal   

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the number of stubble-burning incidents in the state has "considerably reduced" between September and November.

The NGT had sought a report from the board regarding the rising number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab causing air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other areas.

The report dated November 5 and uploaded on the tribunal's website on Thursday, said, "With the unceasing efforts of various departments of the Punjab government, the stubble-burning incidents have considerably reduced for the period from September 15 to November 4 in 2024 as compared to the same period of the years 2023 and 2022."

The report said 26,583 stubble-burning incidents were reported in 2022, followed by 14,173 incidents the next year and the number has reduced to 4,145 this year.

It said 9,492 field functionaries had been appointed to monitor and contain stubble fires.

According to the report, the Punjab Police lodged 1,626 FIRs against violators from September 18 to October 30 and 762 joint tours were conducted by deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of police to create awareness against stubble-burning.

It said 4,669 public-awareness meetings were conducted, while 7,811 joint patrolling of police and revenue department officials were held in sensitive areas.

The report signed by the board's member secretary Gurinder Singh Majithia said from September 15 to November 3, a total of 4,132 farm fires were reported by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), following which 4,046 fields were inspected and in 1,925 cases, no stubble-burning was observed.

It said environmental compensation was imposed in 2,095 cases and a total amount of Rs 49,57,500 realised.

"The state is continuously monitoring and improving its enforcement mechanisms to prevent stubble-burning," the PPCB report said.