Bathinda: Crop residue burning has seen a sharp spike in Punjab and Haryana as farmers race to clear fields ahead of the paddy season, with a majority of this season's cases reported in just the last three days.
In Punjab, 1,014 incidents, nearly 71% of the season's total 1,418 cases, were recorded over the past 72 hours. Haryana logged about 959 cases in the same period, accounting for over 60% of its total 1,565 cases.
The surge coincided with the end of wheat harvesting and preparations for paddy transplantation, with farmers under pressure to quickly clear fields. Punjab recorded 225 cases on Tuesday, 447 on Wednesday and 342 on Thursday, while Haryana logged 345, 376 and 238 cases, respectively.
The urgency is expected to intensify as Punjab prepares to release canal water for paddy sowing from May 1, as announced by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Direct seeding of rice (DSR) is scheduled to begin from May 15, followed by phased transplantation from June 1.
Enforcement action has also picked up in Punjab. Till Wednesday evening, 17 FIRs had been registered, 25 "red entries" made in land records, and Rs 1.90 lakh imposed as environmental compensation in 34 cases. Across five states, total farm fire incidents have reached 48,524 so far this season. Madhya Pradesh continues to dominate with 32,211 cases — over 66% of the total — followed by Uttar Pradesh at 13,308.
Data from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space shows such spikes typically occur during peak field turnover, though the current surge is among the sharpest this season.
On the ground, tensions have surfaced. In Barnala's Cheema village, farmers briefly surrounded a team sent to douse fires, alleging selective enforcement and complaining that authorities were absent during recent crop losses due to unseasonal rain and hail.
