Paddy still in fields, Ludhiana farmer gets notice for burning stubble

Mahesh Sharma

Raikot, November 1

In a bizarre incident, a paddy cultivator of Rachhin village in Ludhiana district has received notice for allegedly setting on fire crop stubble that is yet to ripen and be ready for harvesting.

The landlord and tiller of the land have demanded action against the revenue officials who allegedly were instrumental in initiating punitive action against them that resulted in their image being tarnished and undue harassment whereas they had never burnt any agricultural waste in the past too.

Raikot SDM Gurbir Singh Kohli said the authorities concerned had been advised to probe the sequence of events leading to the embarrassment caused to the landlord and the tiller.

“Normally, physical inspection of the site of the fire reported by the satellite system is undertaken before issuing any notice. Even if some communication is sent inadvertently, actual action is undertaken only after verification of the facts by the designated officers,” said SDM Kohli.

Nirpal Singh of Rachhin village (landlord) and Pardeep Singh (tenant cultivator ) alleged that the revenue officials had initiated action against them for alleged violation of guidelines on disposal of agricultural waste through burning whereas they had never put stubble on fire even earlier. “We were shocked to find an agriculture officer visiting our fields and asking us to explain why we did set the stubble on fire,” said Pardeep Singh, maintaining that no fire incident was reported from any of the fields situated near their village.

Agricultural Development Officer Dr Santosh Kumar, who visited the spot for verification, confirmed that the report received from the revenue department was found to be misleading as no marks of fire were noticed from the fields owned by Nirpal Singh. The paddy crop standing in the fields was yet to ripen and not quite ready for harvesting, acknowledged Kumar.

Perusal of records of satellite data revealed that two incidents of fire had taken place at Rachhin village on October 26. Patwari Jaspreet Singh had reported the matter to his seniors and affirmed that he had verified the occurrence the next day.