Even after rebuke from Supreme Court, Punjab and Haryana government cracked down on farmers burning paddy.

Chandigarh: Following the Supreme Court's recent rebuke on the rising incidents of stubble burning, authorities in Punjab and Haryana have initiated action against guilty farmers in both the states and have registered police cases and imposed fines on them.

It may be recalled that the apex court had last October 16 rapped Punjab and Haryana for their “defiant attitude” against taking punitive action against persons burning paddy residue (straw or stubble) and thus specifically Air pollution was increasing. In and around the national capital.

Special Director General of Police (Special DGP), Law & Order, Punjab, Arpit Shukla said that joint teams of DC/SSP and SDM/DSP are conducting joint visits to the villages which have been identified as stubble burning hotspots. And public activities are being monitored. Awareness meetings with various farmer unions.

Stating that police teams have registered FIRs in 874 cases till Monday, he said that apart from registering cases, a fine of Rs 10.55 lakh has been imposed in 397 cases and red entries have also been made in the revenue records of 394 farmers. .

In Haryana, while 655 active fire spots were recorded till October 21, 24 agriculture officials were also suspended for failing to stop incidents of stubble burning. According to reports, at least 14 farmers have also been arrested for stubble burning – all from Kaithal district; Officials said that so far a fine of more than Rs 1.57 lakh has been collected from 63 farmers.

Among the suspended officers, the highest number of four officers are from Kurukshetra, followed by three each from Kaithal, Karnal, Fatehabad and Ambala districts, while two officers each have been suspended from Panipat, Jind, Hisar and Sonipat districts – all of them These are paddy producing areas. ,

Meanwhile, as per satellite data till Monday, Kaithal tops with maximum 127 cases, followed by 91 in Kurukshetra, 74 in Ambala, 68 in Karnal, 49 in Jind, 40 each in Sonipat and Fatehabad, 31 in Faridabad, There are 31 cases in Panipat. There were 28 cases of burning of paddy straw and 26 cases of burning in Palwal.

Notably, burning of paddy straw after every crop season (starting October 15) has become a common practice in Punjab, Haryana and some other states, causing severe air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). .

Relevantly, farmers choose to burn paddy straw to clear their fields as they get very little time between paddy harvesting and sowing of the next crop – wheat. Another reason why farmers choose this method is that unlike straw management courses, burning paddy straw does not cost them anything, so it is a quick and cheap way to get rid of it.