Bathinda: With 115 new crop residue burning incidents reported on Monday, Punjab's tally for the ongoing kharif season has surged to 9,452. Among the districts, Ferozepur remains the worst affected, recording 903 cases as of May 18. It is followed by Bathinda (740), Moga (733), Tarn Taran (712), Amritsar (696), Sangrur (676), Gurdaspur (623), Ludhiana (610), Muktsar (531), Fazilka (407), Patiala (396), Faridkot (367), Jalandhar (351), Barnala (343), Mansa (342), Kapurthala (306), Hoshiarpur (229), Malerkotla (167), SBS Nagar (118), and Fatehgarh Sahib (114). Three other districts have reported fewer than 100 stubble burning incidents so far.
National Scenario
Madhya Pradesh reported 227 farm fire cases on Monday, while Uttar Pradesh and Haryana saw 46 and 11 incidents, respectively. Of the total 65,634 cases recorded this season, Madhya Pradesh accounts for 37,432 incidents. According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS), Madhya Pradesh has contributed nearly 50% of the crop residue burning cases over the past five years. Between 2022 and May 18, 2026, a total of 2,64,173 cases were reported nationwide, with Madhya Pradesh leading at 1,32,118 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (61,328), Punjab (57,429), Haryana (13,118), and Delhi (180). The highest number of burning incidents, 4,350, was recorded in the Videsha district of Madhya Pradesh.
Legal and Penalty Actions in Punjab
As per the Punjab Pollution Control Board's action-taken report dashboard, 731 FIRs have been filed under Section 223 of the BNS by May 17 evening. Moga district has the highest number of FIRs at 187, followed by Amritsar (154), Sangrur (71), Mansa (60), Patiala (59), Fazilka (51), Barnala (45), Kapurthala (36), Gurdaspur (30), Bathinda (15), Faridkot (13), Jalandhar (4), Muktsar (3), Pathankot (2), and Ludhiana (1). At least 784 red entries have been made in land records. Out of Rs 93.79 lakh in environmental compensation imposed in 1,995 cases, only Rs 6,25,000 has been collected. Warning and show cause notices have been issued to 130 nodal and supervisory officers.
Seasonal Totals by State
As of May 18, the state-wise breakdown of crop residue burning cases is as follows: Madhya Pradesh 37,432, Uttar Pradesh 15,337, Punjab 9,452, Haryana 3,349, Delhi 64, and total 65,634.
