84 incidents, wheat growers continue to burn stubble

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 6

Farmers have started to put their wheat stubble on fire. After the harvest season, 84 incidents of stubble-burning were recorded by the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, Ludhiana.

Last year, the state recorded over 8,500 incidents wherein wheat straw was burnt in fields. According to experts, the number of such incidents is expected to rise by May-end. Farm outfits and the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had appealed to farmers to avoid stubble-burning amid the Covid crisis this year, but it seems this had little impact on ground.

Maximum 15 cases of stubble-burning were recorded in Bathinda district, followed by 10 in Sangrur and nine in Mansa. Every year after harvesting, farmers utilise the leftover crop in fields for fodder and later set the stubble on fire. However, the comparative analysis for 2018, 2019 and 2020 shows that till May 2, the farm fires were down considerably from 806, 162 and 77, respectively. Data compiled by The Tribune reveals that Punjab saw 80,879 cases of stubble-burning in 2016 while the number dropped to 43,814 in 2017 only to rise again to 50,479 in 2018. Maximum challans were issued in 2018 and a fine of Rs 1.37 crore was levied on defaulters. However, only Rs 19 lakh could be collected.

“Erring farmers, backed by politically inclined farm unions, refused to deposit the fine and even took officials hostage when they were approached,” said an official. Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) is between the ‘satisfactory to moderate’ category in Punjab, following a decrease in industrial emissions and vehicular traffic.

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