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Farm fires: Punjab gets cracking as SC talks tough
The Punjab government has prepared a strategy focusing more on deterrence and making the local police and the civil administration responsible following stern directions from the Supreme Court to take immediate steps to stop farm fires.
Following stern directions from the Supreme Court to take immediate steps to stop farm fires, the Punjab government has prepared a strategy focusing more on deterrence and making the local police and the civil administration responsible.
According to a document related to the strategy prepared by the Punjab government, even as the government is yet to get the copy of the orders of the apex court, it has been decided to focus more on cluster-wise joint teams of police and civil administration for ensuring regular patrolling and providing a deterrence against engagement on stubble burning.
“Identification of areas more prone to this issue by way of past patterns/ local intelligence gathering and accordingly intensifying patrolling and community engagement in these areas is another step that we are going to focus more upon,” said a senior official, who was part of the meeting chaired by chief secretary Anurag Verma.
The state police have also suggested spot visits by SDMs and DSPs to keep a check on the issue and send a message that the police and the administration are actively monitoring the issue.
“Effective patrolling and regular presence of the administration and police are having a beneficial impact in this regard. We are ready to post more forces on the ground to help the civil administration in this regard,” a police official, who was part of the meeting, said.
It has also been decided to enhance the involvement of the local community by taking them into confidence regarding the issue.
“Whenever farmers approach the police with problems like lack of machinery/equipment, the same should be conveyed to the civil administration (SDM/DC) for providing immediate relief. Though we have been doing it already, we are ready to address genuine concerns of the farmers about shortage of machinery,” said another official.
As the apex court has also asked Punjab to make local SHO and local administration responsible for the farm fires, the DGP, Punjab, is also set to launch fresh directions to district police chiefs for change in strategy in countering resistance from farmers against burning the straw.
“All the DCs may please share the territorial boundaries of all the SHOs under their jurisdiction of the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre so that we may immediately fix the problem of stubble burning as per the Supreme Court order today,” an “urgent” message sent by the Punjab Government to the deputy commissioners accessed by HT revealed.
A senior official said as per the plan, in case of any farm fire, the SHO will immediately get alert from the remote sensing system and in case no action is taken, he will be held accountable along with other civil administration officials.
“We are just waiting for the final orders which are yet to be uploaded on the SC website. Earlier, it was decided to roll out the plan by this evening. However, on the suggestions of the advocate general, it was decided to wait for the written directions so that we can comply with the same point wise,” a top functionary of Punjab said.
