{Farm fires} At 33, Punjab records season’s highest single-day count

Punjab, on Wednesday, recorded 33 new cases of stubble burning, the highest single-day count this season, bringing the state’s total to 267 cases.

The previous highest tally was 26 cases reported on October 1.

Of the 33 new cases, Tarn Taran district alone accounted for 15, while Amritsar reported eight incidents.

On Monday and Tuesday, the state recorded 18 and 20 cases, respectively.

A senior official from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) warned that the number of stubble-burning incidents is expected to rise further in the coming days, likely causing a decline in the state’s air quality.

“The farmers are now actively harvesting paddy following the resumption of procurement operations in grain markets. The harvesting had been temporarily halted due to a strike by commissioned agents. As a result, farmers will now turn to burning the crop residue to clear the fields for the next crop,” the PPCB official said, pleading anonymity. Wheat sowing in Punjab starts after October 15, while in the southwest districts, the sowing starts from the first week of November.

Every year, air quality in Delhi and its surrounding regions deteriorates around October, with experts blaming it on smoke from paddy fields in Punjab and Haryana, along with local pollutants such as vehicular emissions, localised dust, as well as geographical and climatic factors.

Punjab has managed to reduce farm fire incidents over the last few years. The number of incidents fell from 71,304 in 2021 to 49,922 in 2022.

Last year, the total farm fire count dipped by 25% in comparison to 2022 figures. The number came down to 36,623 in 2023, however, the area under stubble fires increased by 27% (19 lakh acres in 2023 against 15 lakh acres in 2022). This year paddy is sown over 32 lakh tonnes and a bumper paddy yield of 230 lakh tonnes is expected, along with 220 lakh tonnes of paddy straw.

The Punjab government has implemented several measures to curb stubble burning, including marking “red entries” in revenue records to penalise offenders, but so far, it has had little effect on the ground. As per state government data, red entries have been marked into the land records of 84 farmers despite opposition from farmer unions.

In addition, the PPCB has imposed environmental fines totalling ₹2.87 lakh on 94 farmers, of which ₹2.60 lakh has already been recovered. The Punjab Police have also registered 10 FIRs against farmers involved in stubble burning.

Moga admn marks red entry in land records

Faridkot The Moga district administration has marked a red entry into the land records of a farmer for violating the ban on setting crop residue on fire. Additionally, the farmer has been fined ₹2,500 as environmental compensation.

Moga deputy commissioner Vishesh Sarangal stated that action has been taken against a farmer in Said Jalalpur village in sub-division Dharmkot after “the allegations of stubble burning were found true.”