Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Sep 21: Following the Supreme Court’s observation that farmers cannot claim “absolute immunity” for stubble burning, Punjab Police have filed 12 FIRs—the first such action this season—against farmers for setting crop residue ablaze.

According to Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) data, 48 farm-fire incidents have been reported since monitoring began on September 15. Of the 12 FIRs lodged under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 11 are from Amritsar, which tops the state in such cases. No arrests have been made so far.

The Punjab government has also marked 13 “red entries” in land records of violators, barring them from loans or land transactions, and levied environmental fines of ?1.10 lakh, of which ?30,000 has been recovered.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is widely blamed for the spike in Delhi’s air pollution during October–November. Officials warn that farm-fire cases may rise as rains have delayed paddy harvest.

To curb the menace, the state has deployed an 8,000-strong “parali protection force” across 11,624 villages to verify incidents and file daily reports through a dedicated mobile app. Farmers in 663 identified hotspot villages are being urged to adopt in-situ and ex-situ straw management methods.

Farmer unions, however, slammed the crackdown. “We strongly condemn FIRs and red entries against farmers. The government must first provide the promised ?100 per quintal assistance for stubble management before penalising them,” said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of BKU Dakonda.