Punjab: 72% reduction in incidents of farm fires this year

Punjab: The number of stubble burning incidents remained low in Punjab, with only nine cases reported today. Eight of these occurred in Amritsar and one in Patiala. On October 1, 26 incidents were reported in the state, 16 on October 2 and eight on October 3. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has stepped up its efforts to curb stubble burning. This includes expediting the penalty process, imposing environmental compensation of Rs 1.85 lakh and recovering Rs 1.7 lakh. The revenue department has marked around 50 “red entries” against farmers who burnt stubble, which will bar them from taking loans, selling land or obtaining gun licences. Additionally, six FIRs have been registered against violators.

Since the PPCB started monitoring stubble burning on September 15, the state has witnessed a significant drop of 72 per cent in stubble burning incidents compared to the same period last year. A total of 188 incidents were reported this year, while 656 incidents were recorded during the same period in 2023. The PPCB has identified 16 districts and 663 villages across the state as stubble burning hotspots. These districts include Amritsar, Patiala, Barnala, Bathinda, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Sangrur and Tarn Taran. Last year, 23,410 cases of stubble burning were reported in these areas, which is 64 per cent of the 36,663 farm fire cases reported between September 15 and November 30, 2023.