CHANDIGARH: Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana has declined by 27 per cent and 37 per cent respectively as compared to last year.The Union Environment Ministry put the number of farm fires so far this year at at 36,663, while it was 49,922 last year, 71,304 in 2021 and 83,002 in 2022. There has been constant reduction in the crop-residue burning cases in the states, the ministry said.
While four districts in Punjab saw over 50 per cent fewer fires in 2023 compared to 2022, five districts showed improvements ranging from 27 to 50 per cent. Data shows the fires exceeded 2,000 only on four days this season.
Meanwhile in the neighbouring Haryana, there were 2,303 stubble-burning incidents, compared to 3,661 last year, 6,987 in 2021 and 4,202 in 2020. Three districts in Haryana recorded more than 50 per cent fewer fires this year. Five districts saw improvements of up to 37 per cent.
Maximum fires in CM’s home district
According to the data available with the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre,there were only 13 farm fires in the state on Friday. Of these, seven incidents were from Fazilka. Meanwhile, the total number of fires
this season touched 36,663 — the highest number of cases at 5,618 reported from Sangrur, the home district of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, followed by Ferozepur (3,398), Bathinda (2,972), Moga (2,795), Barnala (2,316) and Mansa (2,268). All the maximum districts where stubble-burning took place this year were in Malwa belt of the state.