No smoke, no fire for 3 days: Crackdown leads to dramatic fall in Punjab stubble burning

In a major reprieve, no farm fire has been reported across the state for the third consecutive day, until Thursday.

It was expected that farm fires might increase on account of Dussehra, as peak fire incidents have been witnessed during the festivals of Dussehra and Diwali.

The total count of farm fires stands at 95.

The decline has followed a massive crackdown by authorities. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has imposed environmental compensation worth Rs 2.45 lakh in 95 cases, recovering Rs 1.90 lakh. Police have also registered 53 FIRs, including 23 in Amritsar, under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for disobedience of lawful orders.

The Revenue Department has marked 35 “red entries” in land records of violators, including 24 in Amritsar. A red entry bars farmers from availing loans, mortgaging or selling land, and obtaining gun licenses.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of all major cities in the state remained under 100, which is considered satisfactory.

The monitoring of stubble burning began on September 15. The spike in farm fires was witnessed on September 16, 17, and 18, when 18, 12, and 11 incidents of farm fires were reported across the state, respectively. While eight and five incidents of stubble burning were reported on September 28 and 29, respectively.

As per the available data, while 95 incidents of farm fires have been witnessed by October 2, as many as 171 incidents of farm fires were reported during the corresponding period last year and 456 incidents of stubble burning were reported during the same period in 2023.

On October 2, 2024, as many as 16 farm fires were reported, while on the same day in 2023, 119 incidents of farm fires were reported.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has deployed a flying squad of 22 scientists in Punjab to monitor and curb farm fires.

Officials said the period between October 15 and November 15 would be the “most crucial” as it would witness the bulk of paddy harvesting. Incidents of stubble burning were also expected to increase during that period.