Spike in farm fires in Punjab, 932 FIRs so far

Farm fires, one of the major contributors to air pollution in Delhi-NCR, increased by 14% on Sunday at 740, from the 637 cases on Saturday

Punjab Police on Sunday said it registered 932 first information reports (FIR) since November 8 against farm fires in the state, adding that penalties worth ₹1.67 crore have been imposed in 7,405 cases.

The Punjab government said that 1,072 flying squads comprising police and civil officials have been keeping vigil to prevent stubble burning. (HT Photo (Representative))

However, despite sounding a red alert, farm fires increased by 14% on Sunday at 740, from the 637 cases on Saturday. The number of cases reported on Sunday was also higher than the cases reported in the corresponding years during the same period. The state recorded 448 cases of stubble burning on November 19, 2021, and 426 cases on the same date in 2022. The total cases reported in the state during the corresponding period in 2021 and 2022 were 70,428 and 46,740 cases, respectively.

Special director general of police Arpit Shukla, who is the police nodal officer to monitor stubble burning, said that red entries have been made in the revenue records of 340 farmers during this time. Despite the increase in numbers, the DGP maintained that there has been a “drastic reduction” in the number of cases in the state.

Fazilka, which reported the first-ever FIR related to stubble burning this season, reported the highest number of cases on Sunday (151), followed by Moga (127), Ferozepur (100), Faridkot (68), Muktsar (57), Bathinda (55) and Barnala (48).

“Legal action is being initiated against those found burning stubble. The action against stubble burning has yielded significant results as the farm fire cases have drastically reduced in the last two days,” said Shukla.

The DGP Punjab has also been holding daily meetings with all the senior officers, range officers, CPs/SSPs and station house officers (SHOs) to review stubble burning in the state, and has also issued showcause notices to SSPs of districts that have recorded a high number of farm fires.

As many as 1,072 flying squads comprising police and civil officials have been keeping vigil at stubble burning, while, CPs/SSPs have been holding meetings with farmer leaders at a district level and DSPs are meeting with them at the block level to sensitise them about the Supreme Court order.