49 more stubble burning incidents in Punjab, 561 reported since September 15: PPCB data

Chandigarh: Punjab witnessed 49 fresh stubble burning incidents on Friday, taking the total count to 561 since September 15, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) data showed.

According to the data, the highest number of farm fires were reported in Tarn Taran at 175, followed by Amritsar at 135, Ferozepur 66, Patiala 34, Gurdaspur 27 and Sangrur 23, as many farmers continue to burn crop residue.

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 and November, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue.

Fines amounting to Rs 14.25 lakh have been imposed as environmental compensation in 278 cases so far, according to PPCB data. Of the total fine, Rs 9.55 lakh has been collected so far.

The data also showed that 215 FIRs were registered against farm fire incidents during this period under Section 223 (disobedience of order promulgated by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Authorities in Punjab have also marked 230 red entries, 100 in Tarn Taran and 61 Amritsar, in land records of farmers who burnt crop residues.

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

According to the PPCB data, the total area under paddy cultivation in Punjab this year is 31.72 lakh hectares. Till October 24, 48.86 per cent of this area had been harvested.

Punjab saw 10,909 farm fires in 2024 as compared to 36,663 in 2023, registering a 70 per cent decrease in the practice. 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, witnessing large number of stubble burning incidents.