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Haryana: 10 arrested in Kaithal for farm fire
11 booked in Hisar, 4 in Fatehabad, 2 in Ambala for violating norms. Till Monday, 655 cases of farm fires were logged in Haryana this paddy season.
A day after the Haryana Police made its first arrest for burning stubble this paddy season, the Kaithal police arrested 10 persons on Monday, bringing the tally to 14 in the district, officials said. As per the crop residue burning data made available by the agriculture department, there were only two cases of farm fires on the day, one each in Faridabad and Jhajjar districts.
This is the lowest case count so far this month, the figures show. On October 1, three cases were recorded. Till Monday, 655 cases of farm fires were logged in the state this paddy season since September 15.
A spokesperson of the Kaithal police said five farmers were arrested in Pundri, three each in Dhand and Guhla and the rest in other areas falling under different police stations for putting crop residue to fire, flouting government orders.
Babu Lal, deputy director of agriculture (DDA), Kaithal, said the district recorded 123 cases of which fire location was not found in 40 cases. Fine worth ₹1.57 lakh has been collected.
Kaithal deputy commissioner (DC) Vivek Bharti said 21,485 farmers in the district this year have been given ₹21.88 crore for stubble management.
In a first, Ambala DDA Jaswinder Saini said two cases were registered on the day against farmers for burning stubble and “red mark” entry has been made on the records of 35 farmers on Meri Fasal Mera Byora portal.
Eleven farmers were booked in Hisar and four in Fatehabad for burning stubble. Fatehabad deputy director of agriculture Rajesh Sihag said, “We have recovered a fine of ₹55,000 from 23 farmers for burning stubble. These farmers were barred from selling their produce on the minimum support price for two seasons. Twenty employees, including 17 from the agriculture department and three from revenue department, were issued show-cause notice for not stopping farmers from burning stubble,” he added.
In Karnal, ADC Yash Jaluka chaired a meeting of officials from different department to discuss and ensure implementation of instructions by Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region in view of rising pollution levels.
According to the Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletin by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Bhiwani recorded the worst air in Haryana at 289, followed by Rohtak (283) and Jind (277), all in poor category. Other districts in the category of AQI 201 to 300 are Bahadurgarh (255), Kaithal (239), Charkhi Dadri (235) and Gurugram (210).
The development comes after the Supreme Court slammed the Punjab and Haryana governments for their failure to take effective action against stubble burning. The apex court summoned the Haryana chief secretary on October 23.
