The cumulative farm fire count in Punjab has reached 5,517, with Ferozepur, Tarn Taran and Sangrur districts accounting for the maximum number of such cases. Many farmers continue to ignore government advisories to stop crop residue burning.
Punjab witnessed 345 fresh farm fire incidents on Tuesday, taking the cumulative count to 5,002. On Wednesday, the count further increased to 5,517, official data showed.
According to the data, the highest number of farm fires were reported in Ferozepur at 728, followed by Tarn Taran at 687, Sangrur at 628 and Bathinda at 499.
Punjab recorded a total of 4,657 stubble burning incidents from September 15 to November 9.
Fines amounting to over Rs 85 lakh have been imposed as environmental compensation in 1,695 cases so far. So far, of the total fine, over Rs 37 lakh has been recovered.
The data also showed that 1,259 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).
State authorities have also marked 1,637 red entries in land records of farmers who burnt crop residues.
A red entry bars farmers from getting loans against their farmland or selling it.
The annual farm fire monitoring period begins on September 15, two weeks before paddy procurement starts on October 1.
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.
Punjab recorded 5,114 farm fire incidents during the 2025 paddy harvesting season. The state saw 10,909 farm fires in 2024 as compared to 36,663 in 2023.
(With inputs from PTI)