Stubble burning: Of the 129 incidents, action taken in 2/3rd cases
State has registered five FIRs, 30 red entries in land records and environmental compensation worth ₹1.50 lakh imposed in 52 cases
With Punjab seeing a spike in stubble burning early this year, the state has initiated punitive measures in two-thirds of cases till September 30.
Of the 129 cases reported till September 30, action has been taken in 87 cases as per the official data released by the government.
“The action includes five FIRs registered under section 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the environmental compensation worth ₹1.50 lakh has been slapped in 52 cases and as many as 30 red entries in the revenue records of the farmers have been made for violating the directions of complete ban of burning crop residue,” as per the daily report released by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
Moreover, the field staff visited 112 sites personally and initiated action accordingly, the report further added.
One of the PPCB officials, pleading anonymity, said they have clear-cut instructions from the state government to adopt all possible stringent measures to minimise cases of farm fires this year.
“Last year, we started taking such action against the farmers at a much later stage after the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal (NGT) reprimanded the state for its failure to curb such incidents. Contrary to it, this year the board has taken proactive measures and briefed the same to all the entities working in the field to stop farm fires,” the official said.
Every year, the northern region, especially Delhi and its surrounding areas faces a public health crisis in the run-up to and during most of the winter season. The crisis began with the farm fires in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, where farmers set fire to hundreds of square kilometres of paddy fields after harvesting them to clear them of residue, posing severe health and environmental risks. It causes a smog jacket to form over northern India. Owing to a very short window between paddy harvest and wheat sowing, farmers prefer to burn the paddy crop residue to ready farm for wheat cultivation.
In 2023, of the total 36,663 cases, 932 FIRs were registered, while the environmental compensation worth ₹1.67 crore was slapped in 7,405 cases. The data further reveals that 340 red entries were made in the land records.
In 2023, Punjab’s total farm fire count dipped by 25% as per the PPCB and Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) figures. Against the total farm fire count of 49,922 in 2022, the numbers came down to 36,623 last year. However, the area under stubble fire increased by 27% to 19 lakh acres in 2023 against 15 lakh acres in 2022.
Kisan Majdoor Morcha (KMM) convener Sarwan Singh Pandher, whose organisation is one of the main constituents protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border for the past over seven months, claimed that the stubble fire contribution to the pollution level was just 2% but on the other hand, the industrial pollution causes nearly 52% in air pollution.
“Instead of taking actions or registering FIRs or intimidating farmers with red entries, the state government must come up with some concrete solution to the problem. The state government is providing only lip service in the name of curbing stubble fires,” Pander said but didn’t cite any documents to back his claims.
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has identified 663 villages in the state as stubble-burning hotspots. Moreover, eight districts, including Sangrur, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Moga, Barnala, Mansa, Tarn Taran and Faridkot, that recorded 23,410 (64%) of the total of 36,663 cases of stubble burning last year have also been labelled as stubble fire hotspots.