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Sangrur farmer held for stubble burning, union warns of protest
Superintendent of police (SP) Davinder Attri said errants would face strict action as police teams were conducting patrolling to keep an eye on stubble burning.
The state saw the probably first arrest for stubble burning on Friday with the Sangrur police taking action against a resident of Banarsi village near Khanauri, drawing a sharp reaction from leaders of farmer unions who said they would announce a protest soon. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called a meeting in Ludhiana on Saturday to decide the next course of action.
Notably, the police action comes a few days after the Supreme Court (SC) asked the Punjab government why errant farmers should not be arrested for burning stubble. During a hearing on September 17, the top court had suggested the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to consider introducing penal provisions to hold violators accountable, while also stressing that both the Centre and states must adopt long-term strategies instead of focusing only on “the next five years.”
An FIR under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered on Thursday and the arrest was made today, police said. Superintendent of police (SP) Davinder Attri said errants would face strict action as police teams were conducting patrolling to keep an eye on stubble burning. Station house officer (SHO) Harminder Singh said the police got information about the errant through satellite images.
The state saw a farm fire incident on the day, taking the count to 80. Amritsar alone has reported 45 cases, followed by Patiala (10).
The action taken report of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) revealed that the Punjab Police had registered 45 FIRs over straw burning till Friday. Last year, the Punjab government had registered 5,797 such cases as 10,909 farm fire incidents were reported. Sangrur had seen 1,725 cases, the highest in 2024.
The state government has already marked 25 red entries in violators’ land records. A red entry ensures that the erring farmers don’t take loans against their farmland. Also, they can’t sell or mortgage their land.
Besides, the state has imposed ₹2.15-lakh environmental compensation (fine) in 41 cases and ₹1.70 lakh has already been recovered. Show cause notices have been issued to 63 nodal officers over rising stubble burning cases. Three of them were in Amritsar while other notices were issued in Patiala as nodal officers were reportedly found absent from their duties.
Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “They marked red entries in land records for farmers. Now, they have started arresting farmers. Both Punjab and Union governments have failed to address the issue of stubble management. Farmers are already in distress following the floods and multiple attacks of various paddy diseases.”
Pandher said no industrialist was arrested for polluting the environment but farmers were being arrested merely for burning stubble.
Jagmohan Singh, general secretary, BKU (Dakunda), said, “We strongly condemn the Punjab government’s action. Farmers are being targeted without being provided help to manage stubble. We will announce a protest soon.”
In Sangrur, additional deputy commissioner Amit Bamby held a meeting with local industrialists and baler owners wherein the businessmen were asked to purchase paddy bales exclusively from the fields of Sangrur.
