Punjab: 351 fresh farm fires, total count reaches 3,284

Chandigarh, Nov 6 (PTI) Punjab on Thursday saw 351 farm fires, taking the total count to 3,284 since September 15, according to official data.

Sangrur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Amritsar and Bathinda districts accounted for the bulk of crop residue burning cases, according to Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) data.

According to the data, the highest farm fire incidents were reported from Sangrur at 557, followed by Tarn Taran 537, Ferozepur 325, Amritsar 279, Bathinda 228, Patiala 189, and Moga 165.

The state saw a jump of 2,068 crop residue burning incidents from the 1,216 cases recorded till October 29, the data further showed.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for the rise in air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

As the window for the Rabi crop, wheat, is very short after paddy harvest in October-November, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off crop residues.

According to PPCB data, the total area under paddy cultivation in Punjab this year is 31.72 lakh hectares. Till November 6, 91.16 per cent of this area had been harvested.

Fines amounting to Rs 71.80 lakh have been imposed as environmental compensation in 1,367 cases so far, of which Rs 37.40 lakh has been collected, according to the PPCB.

The data also showed that 1,092 FIRs have been registered against farm fire incidents during this period under section 223 (disobedience of order promulgated by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

State authorities have also marked 1,328 red entries in the land records of farmers who burnt crop residues.

A red entry bars the farmers from getting loans against their farmland or selling it.

Rupnagar district has not reported any stubble-burning incidents so far, while Pathankot reported 1, SBS Nagar 11 and Hoshiarpur 15, according to the data.

Punjab saw 10,909 farm fires in 2024 as compared to 36,663 in 2023, marking a 70 per cent drop.

The state recorded 49,922 farm fire events in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018, with many districts, including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar, reporting a large number of stubble-burning incidents. PTI CHS HIG HIG