Stubble fires continue to rage in Punjab despite SC directive

The highest number of fires were in the CM Bhagwant's constituency Sangrur, which saw 466 such incidents on Wednesday

Punjab’s farmers defied the Supreme Court’s directions on Wednesday, with 2,003 cases of stubble burning being recorded on the day, even as Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) plunged back into the severe category with a reading of 426 at 4pm.

Smoke billows out as stubble burned by the farmers after harvest at Village Jodhan near Ludhiana on Wednesday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

In response to a query from HT on why they were unable to stop the fires, and whether this was not contempt of court, the state’s chief secretary Anurag Verma and director general of police Gaurav Yadav did not respond to requests seeking comments.

The chief minister’s office did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Punjab agriculture director Jaswant Singh said, “The number of farm fires is expected to come down from Thursday as the civil administration and police chiefs of all the districts in Punjab have been asked to implement the action plan to stop the farm fires.”

Every year, farm fires from Punjab push Delhi’s air into severe territory – an AQI reading in excess of 400. Schools in Delhi have been forced to close between November 8 and 18 by the government on account of the pollution. Hearing the petition on air pollution, a bench led by justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia , on Tuesday, directed Punjab’s chief secretary and DGP to oversee the implementation of court orders and ensure that the stubble burning was stopped immediately. The next hearing is on Friday.

To be sure, Delhi’s air quality at this time of the year is bad (in the poor or very poor category, usually), but it is the stubble burning that pushes it into severe, especially when winds blow in from the northwest. Both Punjab and Delhi are governed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Punjab has reported a total of 22,981 cases of stubble burning thus far this paddy harvesting season. Senior officials of the state government held meetings with deputy commissioners across the state, directing them to adopt all possible measures to stop stubble burning a day after the Supreme Court reprimanded the Punjab government over deteriorating air quality in the national capital due to stubble burning in the state, but the results were not evident on the ground.

The state government has, so far throughout this kharif season, filed cases under Section 39 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act against 14 farmers, and under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 18 cases.

In the past, Punjab has been loath to act against farmers, a powerful political constituency.

On Wednesday, of 23 districts in the state, stubble fires were reported in 21 districts.

Nearly 31.93 hectare of area was under paddy cultivation in Punjab. The state was expecting to produce nearly 186 lakh tonnes of paddy straw.

Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman Adarshpal Vig claimed there is a drop of 31% drop in fire incidents compared to last year.

“A detailed meeting was held in which the district administrations and nodal officers have been directed to enforce state action plan which include in-situ and ex-situ management of stubble in the areas where the harvesting is yet to be done. The field officers have been asked to take required action against the farmers, who are defiant to government orders and put paddy stubble ablaze,” Vig said.

Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugarahan) said that stubble burning caused only 8% of air pollution, while the industries cause 51% of pollution.

“The farmers are forced to burn stubble due to poor policies of Centre and state governments. Instead of taking stringent action against industrial corporate houses, the government and Supreme Court are making farmers scapegoat by holding them solely responsible for polluting air,” he said.

He added that Punjab farmers are ready to move away from paddy – a suggestion made by the top court on Tuesday – if they are provided an equally high guaranteed purchase price for other crops.

“The government can end this stubble burning saga if they promote crop diversification by providing handsome MSP for other crops.”