Part 2 of the drive against stubble burning series: Haryana fights farm fires with FIRs, fines, procurement ban
From this year, Haryana has doubled the penalty: Farmers caught burning stubble will pay environmental compensation of ₹5,000/incident on farms under two acres; ₹10,000 in case of fires in two to five acres; and ₹30,000 where the affected area exceeds five acres.
With the Supreme Court keeping a close watch and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) cracking the whip, the Haryana government has decided to slap steep financial penalties on farmers found burning paddy stubble.
Not just this, first information reports (FIR) will be registered against the erring cultivators, and the red entries will be marked in their land records, barring them from selling crops in the next two seasons under the minimum support price (MSP).
These measures are part of a raft of punitive and preventive steps that Haryana has rolled out to curb farm fires and ensure that this illegal bi-annual practice does not sabotage the efforts being made to keep the air free from stubble smoke in the coming days.
Even as Haryana registered a 39% reduction in farm fires in 2024 with 1,406 active fire locations (AFLs) against 2,303 in 2023, the CAQM has directed paddy-growing states, including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, to totally eliminate stubble burning incidents.
So far, three FIRs have been registered against farmers in Fatehabad, Jind, and Kurukshetra and environmental compensation (EC) has also been imposed. “Red entries have been made in the land records of the farmers concerned. Strict punitive measures will follow in case of future violations,” a government spokesperson said, reiterating chief secretary Anurag Rastogi’s directions about “rigorous enforcement to effectively deter farm fires”.
Government sources say that to make deterrence more effective this year, Haryana has revised and doubled its penalty structure. Farmers caught burning stubble will have to pay environmental compensation of ₹5,000 per incident on plots under two acres; ₹10,000 in case of fires in two to five acres; and ₹30,000 where the affected area exceeds five acres.
“I want to appeal to farmers to stop burning stubble. The government has been giving financial incentives to manage paddy stubble,” agriculture director Rajnarayan Kaushik said. “We are taking all necessary steps to deal with farm fires.”
667 farmers were booked in 2024
According to official data, in the 2024 paddy harvesting cycle, Haryana imposed environmental compensation of nearly ₹22 lakh in 657 cases, and recovered about ₹17 lakh. After FIRs were registered against 667 farmers under Section 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of BNS-2023, as many as 1,228 red entries found their way into land records, a move that does not allow procurement of the next two crops.
The crackdown didn’t spare officials either. As many as 649 show-cause notices were issued to nodal and supervisory officers for failing to contain fires, 28 were suspended, and 35 charge-sheeted. In all, 33 complaints were filed against officers accused of negligence.
Top officials say the red entries in land records acted as a deterrent. “This (red entries) has helped as in the next two seasons, the crops of such farmers are not procured,” said a senior government functionary.
The data showed that during the 2025 wheat harvesting cycle, at least 1,924 red entries were carried out in land records in 13 districts with the highest number of 1,512 in Jhajjar district alone followed by 85 in Kurukshetra, 79 in Fatehabad and 78 in Rohtak for wheat crop residue burning.
According to agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana, the state government’s technology driven and “farmer-focused model” to curb stubble burning has been yielding the desired results. “Registering a 39% dip in farm fires last year proves we are moving in the right direction,” Rana said.
The number of red-zone villages (six or more AFLs) declined from 67 in 2023 to 14 in 2024, while yellow-zone villages (2–5 AFLs) fell from 402 to 273. Villages in the green zone (0–1 AFL) increased from 6,435 to 6,616.
Last year, red-zone villages were concentrated in Karnal, Kaithal, Jind, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, and Faridabad, while yellow-zone villages were spread across most districts, excluding Gurugram, Charkhi Dadri, Mewat, and Rewari.
In its latest directions, the CAQM had asked the state governments to encourage citizens to report stubble burning via social media, leading to “red entries” in farm records along with the imposition and recovery of environmental compensation from violators.
“It is through a blend of penalties, payouts, and persistent monitoring that the state is tightening its grip on one of the toughest agrarian challenges,” said an official.
Adopt Haryana model, Punjab told
The CAQM has advised Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to have a “common determined rate” for paddy straw procurement as has been done by Haryana.
Haryana says it is the only state to have notified a uniform rate for paddy straw purchase, ₹2,500/metric tonne, with an additional ₹500/metric tonne incentive for straw with less than 20% moisture content. The notification was issued on March 13, 2023, and is seen as a major step to discourage stubble burning by providing a viable economic alternative to farmers.
Officials say that as directed by the CAQM, the Parali Protection Force has been set up in all districts and blocks. The multi-agency teams include police personnel, agriculture and administrative officials besides nodal or cluster officers from other departments. Their role is to monitor, prevent, and respond to incidents of paddy stubble burning.
According to official data, till September 24, Haryana had appointed 2,969 nodal officers against the required 8,966 for mapping hotspot villages. The nodal officers have been assigned groups of farmers, with each officer responsible for a maximum of 50 farmers in red and yellow zones and 100 farmers in the green zone.
Rastogi, who reviewed state action plan implementation on crop residue management (CRM) on Monday, directed 100% compliance and reiterated the government’s zero-tolerance policy towards farm fires. He directed all deputy commissioners to monitor preparations in their respective districts to ensure that preventive measures are operational before harvesting peaks.
Concluded
