10 cops suspended, 82 officials served notices as Jind tops stubble burning cases

With Jind district recording the highest number of paddy stubble burning incidents this season and topping the state's single-day tally on Sunday, the police have suspended 10 personnel, while the civil administration has issued show-cause notices to 82 officials for alleged laxity.

District-wise stubble burning cases so far

Ambala – 6

Bhiwani – 6

Charkhi Dadri – 1

Faridabad – 4

Fatehabad – 82

Gurugram – 0

Hisar – 63

Jhajjar – 8

Jind – 164

Kaithal – 59

Karnal – 18

Kurukshetra – 8

Mahendragarh – 0

Nuh – 1

Palwal – 14

Panchkula – 1

Panipat – 4

Rewari – 0

Rohtak – 36

Sirsa – 30

Sonepat – 51

Yamunanagar – 7

Total – 563

Jind reported 15 cases of stubble burning today, the most in Haryana. The district has now logged 164 such incidents during the ongoing kharif harvesting season, placing it at the top of the state’s stubble burning chart. Haryana as a whole has recorded 563 cases so far.

Taking stern notice, Jind Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh ordered the suspension of 10 police personnel. The officials said the suspended personnel were responsible for checking stubble burning and initiating action in their assigned areas.

The SP told ‘The Tribune’ that the suspended cops were deployed as beat incharges in areas where fire incidents surged. He said the department “will not tolerate any negligence in a sensitive matter such as environmental protection.”

Deputy Commissioner M Imran Raza confirmed that 82 delinquent officials from various departments had also been served notices for negligence. “Notices have been issued to all delinquent officials under Section 14 (Commission for Air Quality Management) of the CAQM Act,” he said.

Both the police and civil administration had earlier assigned beats to personnel to curb burning and to engage with farmers. Despite awareness drives, cases continued to emerge from these very areas. Police teams from Uchana, Garhi and other stations had been visiting villages for several days, “educating farmers about the harmful effects of stubble burning and repeatedly urging them not to set crop residue on fire,” a police official said.

The SP warned that any police employee found negligent in future will face strict departmental action. Farmers responsible for burning crop residue will also face “stringent legal proceedings without any leniency,” he added.