Five Punjab districts contributed nearly 50% of stubble burning cases this season
Sangrur, Bathinda, Moga, Ferozepur and Barnala have reported 16,649 of the 35,606 incidents; on Tuesday, the total number of cases crossed 35,000-mark with these five districts reporting 16,649 cases to date
Five Punjab districts, including Sangrur, Ferozepur, Moga, Bathinda and Barnala have contributed 47% of the farm fire cases reported this harvest season.
On Tuesday, the total number of cases crossed 35,000-mark with these five districts reporting 16,649 cases to date.
Sangrur, the home district of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, reported the highest 5,565 cases of stubble burning followed by Ferozepur 3,322, Moga 2,596, Bathinda 2,900 and Barnala 2,266.
The majority of the cases have been reported from the districts, which have a stronghold of farm unions. Overall, the cases of stubble burning dropped by 21% this year as compared to 49,992 cases logged last year, but Sangrur cases are more than last year’s figure of 5,239.
Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman Adarshpal Vig said the cases of stubble burning have considerably reduced in most of the districts as the farmers have responded positively to in-situ and ex-situ management methods.
“Based on last year’s figures, as many as 10 districts were identified as red areas before the start of paddy harvesting. We have managed to control farm fire incidents in these districts as the district heads were directed to implement state action plan meticulously,” he said.
Vig added that the turnaround will happen gradually.
In Sangrur, the state police have registered 57 FIRs against farmers under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of IPC and filed prosecution against in four cases under section 39 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
Even the environmental compensation of ₹14.67 lakh was imposed in 579 cases.
In Ferozepur, 89 FIRs were registered, while a fine of ₹16.62 lakh was slapped. In Moga, the environmental compensation of ₹10.17 lakh was imposed in 802 cases, while 122 FIRs were registered.
Meanwhile, in Bathinda, 101 FIRs were registered against the farmers and a compensation of ₹9.82 lakh was imposed against the farmers in 362 cases. In Barnala, 59 FIRs were registered, while a fine of ₹10.8 lakh was slapped in 393 cases.
One of the officials said despite taking stringent action against the farmers in these red hotspot districts, the cultivators had shown reluctance to stop burning stubble.
“Even as the cases were registered we are sceptical that these cases will be taken to a logical conclusion as the farmer unions in the state have strongly reacted to registration of FIRs,” an official said.
Manjit Singh Rai, an activist of BKU (Doaba) said they are going to hold a three-day long protest under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) from November 26 onwards at Chandigarh.
“The scores of farmers have no logistics and finances to manage stubble scientifically. Instead of providing required machinery and other financial backup, the state government had resorted to registration of FIRs,” he said.
Kesar Singh Bhangoo, a retired professor, department of economics at Punjabi University, said the issue requires the central government to get serious and provide concrete alternatives mainly coming up with minimum support prices and assured marketing for alternative crops.
“The issue of stubble burning could be resolved until there is an alternative available for the paddy crop. The centre and state government could not stop farmers from stopping paddy in Punjab as the state shares a major chunk of paddy in the central pool,” Bhangoo said.
Cases drop to 513, count crosses 35k mark
Jalandhar
The cases of stubble burning in Punjab dropped to 513 on Tuesday, taking the total number of incidents to 35,606 in this paddy harvest season. The number of cases reported on Tuesday was higher than the cases reported in the corresponding years during the same period.
The state recorded 168 cases of stubble burning on November 21, 2021, and 243 cases on the same date in 2022. The total cases reported in the state during the corresponding period in 2021 and 2022 were 70,879 and 47,351 cases, respectively.
One of the officials of the state agriculture department said the cases were high this year due to delayed paddy harvesting.
Nearly 31.93 lakh hectares of area was under paddy cultivation in Punjab. “Due to floods, the paddy was re-sown in 1.20 lakh hectare of area in Patiala, Fazilka, Sangrur, Mansa, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Fatehgarh Sahib districts,” an official said.
Joginder Singh, state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugarahan) said the Supreme Court’s suggestion to state government to stop buying paddy on MSP from farmers indulging in stubble burning is completely unjustified. Instead of directing the centre and state government to provide alternatives, it seems even the courts are hell-bent upon denting farmer fraternity financially,” he said.
“There is no alternative on the ground and nobody wants to have a healthy and sincere discussion on it. The whole Punjab economy is dependent upon paddy. The centre and state should tell the Supreme Court what they have done to stop this practice except registering FIRs and making red entries in their land records of the farmers,” he said.
