Punjab saw 415 farm fires from Sep 15 to Oct 21, down from 1,510 last year: Data

Patiala, Oct 22 (PTI) Punjab recorded 415 incidents of farm fire between September 15 and October 21, down from 1,510 cases reported during the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).

The data showed that the number of farm fires recorded during this period in 2023 was 1,764.

The sharp drop comes amid a delayed paddy harvest as rains lashed the state until the first week of October. Damage caused by floods also delayed the crop harvest at some places.

Officials say stricter field monitoring and awareness campaigns, telling farmers about the ill-effects of stubble burning, have also had an impact.

A statement issued by the Punjab government said the sustained and rigorous efforts by the civil administration and police to prevent stubble burning have yielded significant results, with the state witnessing a nearly-four-fold reduction in farm-fire cases this year, compared to the same period in the previous two years.

According to the PPCB data, the total area under paddy cultivation in Punjab this year is 31.72 lakh hectares. Till October 21, 32.84 per cent of the land was harvested.

In Tarn Taran district, 67.95 per cent of the area under paddy cultivation has been harvested. In Amritsar, the figure stands at 70 per cent. These two districts have reported the majority of the farm fires.

In Barnala, 8.1 per cent of the area under paddy cultivation has been harvested, followed by 8 per cent in Moga and 17 per cent in Sangrur.

Of the total number of farm-fire incidents, Tarn Taran reported 136, Amritsar 120, Ferozepur 41, Patiala 27, Gurdaspur 16 and Sangrur 14.

The number of stubble-burning incidents in the state stood at 116 on October 11 and went up to 415 over the last 11 days.

As crop harvest picks up pace in most districts and farmers get their fields ready for sowing wheat in the days to come, it remains to be seen if this number will increase further.

According to the PPCB, fines worth Rs 9.4 lakh in the form of environmental compensation have so far been imposed in 189 cases of stubble burning and an amount of Rs 6.25 lakh has been recovered.

Additionally, 170 FIRs, including 61 in Tarn Taran and 50 in Amritsar, have been registered over stubble-burning incidents.

The cases have been registered under section 223 (disobedience of orders promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Punjab witnessed 36,663 farm fires in 2023 and 10,909 in 2024, registering a 70-per cent drop.

The number stood at 49,922 in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018.

According to the official statement, complying with the directions of the Supreme Court and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to bring down stubble-burning cases to zero, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav and Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla have been personally monitoring the action against farm fires.

The DGP has been holding meetings with all the senior officers, range officers, commissioners of police, senior superintendents of police and station house officers to personally review the stubble-burning cases on a day-to-day basis.

Shukla said police teams, along with the civil administration, have been making untiring efforts at the ground level to curb the menace of stubble burning.

He said deputy commissioners, SSPs, SDMs and DSPs have been conducting joint tours at the villages that have been identified as stubble-burning hotspots and holding public awareness meetings with farmer unions at the district and sub-divisional levels.

He said legal action is being initiated against those found burning stubble. PTI COR SUN VSD RC