CHANDIGARH: Days after the Supreme Court had pulled up both Punjab and Haryana for tolerating the farm fires by collecting nominal fines and without initiating criminal prosecution against a single farmer under the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) the Punjab Police has registered 874 FIRs and 471 daily diary report (DDRs).
Pertinently, complying with the directions of the Supreme Court and Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to bring down stubble burning cases to zero, DGP Gaurav Yadav had appointed Special DGP Arpit Shukla as the police nodal officer to monitor action against stubble burning. Yadav has also been holding meetings with all the senior officers, range officers, CPs and SSPs besides station house officers (SHOs) to personally review the cases of stubble burning in the state on a day-to-day basis.
Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said that the Punjab Police jointly with the Civil Administration has initiated a massive campaign to educate farmers about the harmful effects of burning stubble and also taking legal action against those found putting matchstick to paddy straw.
Shukla said that police teams along with civil administration have been making untiring efforts at the ground level to curb the menace of stubble burning in the state. He said that DCs, SSPs, SDMs and DSPs have been conducting joint tours at villages, which have been identified as stubble burning hotspots and holding public awareness meetings with various farmer unions at district and sub-divisional levels.
As many as 522 joint tours were made by DCs and SSPs and 981 joint tours were made by SDMs and DSPs in the last few days, during which they held 2504 public awareness meetings, while, 2457 meetings were organised with the farmer unions. He said that legal action is being initiated against those found burning stubble.
Till now, 1393 farm fires have been detected by satellites in the state, and joint teams were sent for inspection on the spot, he said, while adding that police teams have registered FIRs in 874 cases, while, no case of stubble burning was found at 471 spots. However, daily diary report (DDR) entries of 471 cases were made at the concerned police stations.
Apart from registering FIRs, he said that penalties worth Rs 10.55 lakh were imposed in 397 cases and red entries have also been made in revenue records of 394 farmers. Meanwhile, depending on the area and size of the police station, a sufficient number of additional patrolling parties are already activated, while, flying squads have also been keeping vigil on stubble burning.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Haryana from now onwards if farmers restore to stubble burning the Haryana Government will make a Red Entry in their records thus restricting them from selling their crops in the grain markets for the subsequent two seasons and also said that cases be registered against them. The crop residue burning contributes to smog crises of Delhi.
As per the orders issued on last Thursday by the Director of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department of Haryana to all the deputy commissioners and deputy directors of agriculture read, "Red entry should be made in MFMB record of farmers who are found involved in paddy crop residue burning, provisions for the same has already been given in Deputy Director of Agriculture login. It will restrict the farmers from selling their crops in mandis through the e-kharif portal during the next two seasons. This entry is mandatory and mst be completed promptly for all agriculture fires. All farmers having agriculture fires must be tagged in the login provided. This is for strict compliance.’’
The order also stated that register cases on farmers who are indulged in stubble burning. "As per the directions of Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), FIR should be registered against all the farmers who burn or have burnt paddy crop residue during the current season from September 15 and prosecution be made in the relevant act.’’
Some 627 instances of farm fires were recorded in the state between September 15 and October 18 this year, which is the highest for the period since 2020. Meanwhile 80 per cent of these fires were reported from Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Karnal, Fatehabad Yamunagar and Jind.