Four cops suspended, 23 served notices over farm fires in Fatehabad

Government officials and police personnel in Fatehabad are facing disciplinary action after the district ranked second in Haryana for stubble burning incidents. The State Air Quality Management Commission has issued notices to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP), prompting a swift response from local authorities.

Following the directive, SP Siddhant Jain suspended four police officers and issued show-cause notices to 23 others for negligence in preventing crop residue burning. The district has reported over 70 fire locations so far, and 19 farmers have been booked under FIRs for allegedly setting paddy stubble ablaze.

Earlier, both DC Dr Vivek Bharti and SP Jain were served notices asking why stubble burning continued despite preventive measures. The administration had deployed monitoring teams in the red zone, assigning officials to oversee every 50 farmers and spread awareness about the hazards of residue burning.

SP Jain said the department had been proactive before and after the commission’s notice. “Wherever negligence was observed, action was taken immediately,” he stated. He added that 19 FIRs have been filed this season — a 70 per cent reduction from last year, when 65 such cases were registered. “The district police are fully vigilant and using all available resources to combat stubble burning while also raising public awareness,” Jain added.

In addition to police action, 18 administrative officials — including three sub-divisional nodal officers, four block-level officers and 11 village-level officers — have been served notices and asked to respond within 72 hours.

Fatehabad’s high ranking in stubble burning cases underscores the continuing challenge of curbing crop residue fires in Haryana despite tight monitoring and enforcement efforts.