43,800 farm fires last year, but cold response from govt

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 18

The Punjab Remote Sensing Centre recorded almost 43,800 stubble-burning incidents after the paddy harvesting season in the state last year, the highest till date.

While the authorities had imposed around Rs 75 lakh fine on the offenders, a majority of them have not bothered to pay. With the political will missing, the deputy commissioners concerned, too, are yet to expedite steps to recover the penalty.

The farm fires had taken a toll on the air quality of the state for over a month. Official documents suggest that Sangrur with 7,000 farm fires topped the list where the authorities imposed a fine of Rs 26 lakh. But the erring farmers backed by unions refused to deposit the fine. “Investigation in many cases is still pending as the farmer unions have threatened agitation if their members are harassed,” said an official.

In Patiala, of the total around 3,800 stubble-burning incidents, roughly 40 cases were registered and a fine of Rs 15 lakh was imposed.

In January last year, the government had chosen Patiala as model district for implementing the ban on burning stubble. The district administration had warned to challan farmers in case of violation. However, no strict action was taken. In Bathinda, over 3,600 cases were recorded, but not a single farmer was fined.

Kahan Singh Pannu, Chairman, PPCB, confirmed that the respective deputy commissioners had been told to act tough. “In many cases, the DCs are yet to complete investigation. In cases where the offenders were fined, the money could not be collected,” he said.

Paddy pain

• Recent studies suggest that the area under paddy increased from about 2.27 lakh hectares in 1960 to about 30 lakh hectares in 2016
• The total irrigated area increased from about 38 per cent to 98 per cent, of which 73 per cent is irrigated by tubewells across the state
• Besides the problem of stubble-burning, paddy cultivation is contributing to the depletion of water table, thus posing a dual challenge for the authorities