CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police has registered a record 268 cases of burning crop residue across the state against farmers in the past two days.
According to data from the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, on Friday only six cases of farm fires, two each in Fazilka and Ludhiana and one each in Gurdaspur and Sangrur, were recorded. The figure is the lowest of this season.
A total of 22,644 crop-residue burning incidents were recorded in Punjab and Haryana from September 15 to November 7, of which 20,978 (93 per cent) were in Punjab and 1,605 (7 per cent) in Haryana.
After the Supreme Court rapped the Punjab and Haryana government over stubble burning, the central government sent flying squads, comprising officials of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in 22 districts of Punjab and 11 districts of Haryana.
“We will ensure that the SC orders are implemented in letter and spirit,’’ Punjab Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said. According to sources, Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired a meeting on Wednesday with chief secretaries and other senior officers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. The meeting was also attended by the chairman of the Commission on Air Quality Management (CAQM).
Gauba directed the Punjab government to take effective actions to stop stubble burning in the remaining days of the harvest season and fix responsibility on DCs, SSPs and SHOs.Moreover, the CAQM was directed to send out flying squads to Punjab and Haryana and submit daily reports on the incidents of farm fires.
According to the CAQM and the inputs provided by the state governments, the ongoing crisis is majorly on account of stubble burning as it amounts to 38 per cent of air pollution level.
The Punjab administration and police, officials said, held meetings with sarpanches and formed 682 flying squads besides imposing fines to the tune of Rs 71.21 lakh on 3,348 farmers.
Data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s satellite monitoring division suggest that of the 35,350 crop residue burning events recorded this year, 65 per cent have been reported out of Punjab. However, Haryana has only reported 1,676 events of stubble burning, or about four per cent, down from 2,693 cases of farm fires recorded last year, much lower than the 4,753 cases registered in 2020.
What satellite pictures reveal
According to data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute’s satellite monitoring division, a total of 22,644 crop-residue burning incidents were recorded in Punjab and Haryana from September 15 to November 7, of which 20,978 (93 per cent) were in Punjab and 1,605 (7 per cent) in Haryana.