10 farmers booked for burning paddy stubble in Amritsar district

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Amritsar, November 2

Acting tough against farmers, the district administration got FIRs registered against at least 10 persons on Thursday for violating the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 for causing air pollution by flouting the ban on burning of crop residue imposed by the government.

Earlier, the administration booked four farmers for violating the ban on burning crop residue imposed by the Deputy Commissioner under Section 144 of CrPC. Additionally, an amount of nearly Rs 9 lakh has been imposed as environmental compensation as per the guidelines of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

To check the burning of crop residue, teams led by Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori visited the rural areas. The DC himself visited Iban village along with fire trucks after receiving information about the burning of crop residue.

Officials of the district administration said that teams comprising senior officials visited at least 18 spots where fire activity was detected and used fire tenders to douse the flames. The Deputy Commissioner stated that 275 nodal officers and 55 cluster officers have been appointed to check the burning of crop residue. The district administration has also instructed all sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) to visit the spot after a fire activity is detected and take measures to stop the same.