Jalandhar saw 60% less farm fire incidents this year, say officials

Over 3.5 lakh tons of paddy straw in Jalandhar have been managed this year using in-situ and ex-situ management techniques which saw 1075 farm fire cases Nov 6 , the officials said.

Jalandhar administration has claimed that the district witnessed a decrease of 60% in stubble farm fire incidents this year.

A farmer burns crop stubble in a rice field at a village in Fatehgarh Sahib district in Punjab. REUTERS/Sunil Kataria (REUTERS)

Deputy Commissioner Jaspreet Singh said that a total of 1075 farm fire cases have been reported this year till November 6 against as many as 2548 cases reported during the corresponding period last year. He further mentioned that despite being one of the largest districts, this year Jalandhar accounted only for 3.5% of total farm fire incidents in the state.

With over 90% of paddy harvesting having already taken place, farm fire incidents are expected to remain below last year’s cases. “District administration had adopted a multi-pronged strategy to curb stubble burning practices including appointing cluster officers to keep a check on such cases, imposing environmental compensation, carrying out awareness activities, providing assistance for crop residue management,” Singh added.

To curtail stubble-burning practices, the DC said that over 3.5 lakh tons of paddy straw have been managed this year using in-situ and ex-situ management techniques. He further mentioned that about 45,000 acres and 22,000 acres of land have been put under ex-situ and in-situ techniques respectively. Likewise, more than 30% of wheat sowing has been completed using crop residue management techniques so far. Similarly, the administration has succeeded in managing nearly 50,000-ton paddy at the electricity generation plant at Bir Pind where over 1.50 lakh units of electricity have been produced till now. “A total of 86 challans have been issued so far under which environmental compensation worth ₹2.15 lakh has also been imposed on violators. Likewise, red entries have been made in 45 cases besides the registration of an FIR. The administration has delivered over 4500 such equipment at subsidised rates in Jalandhar”, the DC said.