65 FIRs registered in Karnal as stubble burning continues

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, April 30

Stubble burning is continuing unabated in the district despite ban. It is causing air pollution and affecting soil fertility.

The Agriculture Department has got registered 65 FIRs this season and imposed a fine of Rs 75,000 as environment compensation on the defaulters.

Sources said this was the figure given by the Agriculture Department. They said a large number of cases had not been reported so far.

To curb the rising pollution in the state, the government has instructed farmers not to burn crop residue. It has warned of strict action against the defaulters, following which Section 144 has been imposed in the district. The administration has constituted a village-level committee of three officials. Several educational programmes are also being conducted by the department, but to no avail.

Department officials claimed they had contained stubble burning this season. To carry out a reality check, The Tribune team visited various places on the Assandh and Meerut road and found fields engulfed in fire. The visibility was also poor due to smog, posing a serious threat to the commuters.

Pardeep Meel, Deputy Director (Agriculture), said they had fixed a fine of Rs 2,500 for the farmers with less than two acres, while Rs 5,000 would be imposed on the farmers with two to five acres of land. Farmers with more than five acres had to pay Rs 15,000 fine for burning stubble, he said.

“As many as 17 cases of stubble burning have been reported so far in the district by the administration,” said Virender Punia, SDO, Haryana State Pollution Control Board.