Farmers slam action against cultivators for stubble burning

Chandigarh: Punjab farmers’ bodies on Tuesday slammed the action against paddy growers for stubble burning and demanded a cash incentive for crop residue management.

Despite a ban on crop residue burning, many farmers continue to indulge in the practice to clear the fields for sowing the next wheat crop.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for the rise in air pollution in Delhi after harvesting of the paddy crop in October and November.

As the window for sowing the Rabi crop — wheat — is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue. Punjab has seen 95 fire incidents from September 15 to September 29. Crop residue burning was physically verified at 51 sites, according to the data of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.

Maximum stubble burning cases have been witnessed in Amritsar at 55, followed by 11 in Tarn Taran, 10 in Patiala, four in Malerkotla and three each in Barnala and Kapurthala. A fine of Rs 2.30 lakh as environmental compensation has been imposed in 48 cases, according to the PPCB data. Of the total fine, Rs 1.80 lakh has been recovered.

The data also showed that a total of 51 FIRs, including 22 in Amritsar and 11 in Tarn Taran, have been registered in the farm fire incidents. The cases have been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant.

The state authorities also marked 32 red entries, the maximum in Amritsar, in the land records of erring farmers. The red entries bar farmers from getting loans against their farmland or selling the same. The process of recording farm fire incidents started on September 15 and will continue till November 30.

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee leader Sarwan Singh Pandher slammed the state government for its crackdown against farmers.

He alleged that farmers were being deliberately targeted while no action is being taken against the industry, “which contributes the maximum to the environmental pollution”.

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