Stubble burning: 874 FIRs, 394 red entries, Rs10.55 lakh penalty; Punjab cops list action taken

“Till now, 1,393 farm fires were detected by satellites in the state, and joint teams were sent for inspection on the spot,” Shukla said, adding that police teams have registered FIRs in 874 cases since September 15, while no case of stubble burning was found at 471 spots.

However, daily diary report (DDR) entries of 471 cases were made at the police stations concerned, he said.

Apart from registering FIRs, penalties worth Rs 10.55 lakh were imposed in 397 cases and red entries made in revenue records of 394 farmers, the senior officer added.

Red entries marked in revenue records makes it difficult for farmers to sell, mortgage their land or avail loans against it. Complying with the directions of the Supreme Court and Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to bring down stubble burning cases to zero, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav had appointed Shukla as the police nodal officer to monitor action against stubble burning.
Shukla said police teams along with civil administration have been making untiring efforts at the ground level to curb the menace of stubble burning in the state.

He said the teams have been conducting joint tours in villages, which have been identified as stubble burning hotspots and holding public awareness meetings with various farmer unions at district and sub-divisional levels.

In the last few days, deputy commissioners, senior superintendents of police, sub-divisional magistrates and deputy superintendents of police held joint tours, during which they held public awareness meetings and also meetings with farmer bodies.

Shukla exhorted farmers to cooperate and not burn crop residue, which will not only lead to the deterioration of the environment but also affect the health of children and elderly people.

Earlier, bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Maish of Supreme Court had slammed the Punjab government, saying said not even a single prosecution has been carried out in past three years and it was only tolerating breaches.

“Why are you shy of prosecuting people. This is not a political matter. This is a matter of implementation of statutory directions of the commission. No political considerations will apply. There is defiance on your part. You are encouraging people to commit breaches. You are only imposing nominal fines. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is telling you the location of the stubble burning and you say fire location is not found,” the bench said.

Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh submitted it was difficult to implement the directions on the ground and the authorities made “red entries” in the revenue records of the farmers who caused fires at farms.