Haryana records 13 farm fires on Diwali, highest this season

Haryana recorded 13 new cases of stubble burning on Diwali, marking the highest single-day tally of the current season.

With four additional cases reported on Tuesday, the total number of farm fire incidents across the state has reached 55. However, there is a significant fall in the stubble-burning cases in the current season in comparison to the last season.

The state had recorded 655 incidents till October 21 last year, 689 in the same period in 2023 and 771 in 2022, highlighting the fall in the cases in the current season so far.

The data shows that Jind leads the tally with 15 cases, followed by five each at Fatehabad and Sirsa, four each at Sonepat, Kaithal, and Hisar, three each at Faridabad, Karnal, Palwal and Yamunanagar, two each at Bhiwani and Panipat, and one each at Jhajjar and Kurukshetra.

Officials gave credit to the awareness among farmers to manage stubble for earning profit as well as a subsidy scheme on stubble management machines and an incentive of Rs 1,200 per acre for stubble management through in-situ and ex-situ management systems instead of burning it.

Besides, village, block, sub-division and district-level committees comprising employees and officials of the different departments across the state are also making efforts to check farm fires.

“Farmers are earning profit from stubble management and setting up examples for others. Employees not only of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department but of other departments are working on the ground to spread awareness about the ill-effects of stubble burning, contributing to decline in stubble-burning cases,” said Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Karnal.

Meanwhile, a case of stubble burning was detected in Rahra village of Assandh sub-division, where a farmer was booked and fined. DDA Singh informed that officials from the joint departmental committee reached the site after receiving a location alert from the HARSAC satellite monitoring system.

Farmer Rishipal was found guilty of burning paddy residue on 1.5 acres. He has been fined Rs 5,000, and an FIR has been registered against him. The field has also been marked with a “red entry” on the ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal, which will make the farmer ineligible for selling crops on MSP for two seasons.

He said that this is the first confirmed stubble-burning incident in Karnal district this season. A show-cause notice has also been issued to the field officers — including the JE, village secretary, patwari, VLDA and agriculture supervisor — for failing to prevent the fire. Disciplinary action will be taken based on their responses.

Dr Wazir Singh appealed to farmers not to burn crop residue, warning that such acts not only harm the soil and environment but also disqualify farmers from availing government schemes. He maintained that awareness campaigns are being continuously conducted in rural areas to promote eco-friendly residue management practices.