Bathinda: After nine consecutive days of rising crop residue burning, Punjab witnessed a significant decline on Wednesday, May 6, with only 39 farm fire incidents reported across the state. This figure is substantially lower than those recorded in Madhya Pradesh (118) and Uttar Pradesh (143) on the same day.
Recent Surge in Farm Fires
The past 10 days have accounted for over 92% of Punjab's total 3,729 farm fire cases this season, with 3,460 incidents occurring between April 27 and May 6. Daily counts peaked at 644 on May 2, followed by 447 on both May 4 and April 29, 423 on May 5, 417 on May 3, 342 on April 30, 341 on May 1, 225 on April 27, and 135 on April 28, before plummeting to 39 on May 6.
District-Wise Breakdown
Sangrur remains the worst-affected district in Punjab, reporting 434 cases as of May 6. Other heavily impacted districts include Ferozepur (408), Bathinda (318), Tarn Taran (312), Fazilka (242), Muktsar (231), Mansa (224), Gurdaspur (193), Barnala (175), Amritsar (166), Patiala (154), Hoshiarpur (148), Moga (142), Ludhiana (135), and Faridkot (130). Eight additional districts have recorded fewer than 100 cases each during this period.
National Scenario
Across five states, a total of 54,525 farm fire cases have been reported so far. Madhya Pradesh leads with 34,123 incidents, accounting for 62% of the total. Uttar Pradesh has recorded 13,944 cases, followed by Punjab (3,729), Haryana (2,683), and Delhi (46).
According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling From Space (CREAMS), Madhya Pradesh has contributed nearly 51% of all crop residue burning cases over the past five years. Between 2022 and May 6, 2026, out of 2,53,064 cases, Madhya Pradesh accounted for 1,28,809, followed by Uttar Pradesh (59,935), Punjab (51,706), Haryana (12,452), and Delhi (162).
The Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh tops the list nationally with 4,060 incidents. Overall, 89 districts across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana have each reported over 100 cases as of May 6.
During the 2025 kharif paddy harvesting season, Madhya Pradesh again led stubble burning with 17,067 incidents, compared to Uttar Pradesh (7,290) and Punjab (5,114).
Enforcement Actions
The Punjab Pollution Control Board has taken stringent measures against violators. As of the evening of May 5, 191 First Information Reports (FIRs) under Section 223 of the BNS have been registered, including 111 on a single day. Sangrur district recorded the highest number of FIRs (70), followed by Fazilka (35), Mansa (32), Barnala (15), Bathinda (12), Kapurthala and Patiala (6 each), Gurdaspur (5), Faridkot and Ludhiana (4 each), and Moga and Pathankot (1 each).
Additionally, 305 'red entries' have been made in land records, with 127 added on May 5 alone. Environmental compensation totaling Rs 25.4 lakh has been imposed across 511 farm fire cases, including Rs 12.3 lakh levied in a single day. So far, Rs 1.5 lakh has been recovered.
