Bathinda: Punjab reported 47 fresh farm fire incidents on Thursday, escalating the total count to 9,615 for the current season. Ferozepur district emerged as the worst affected, recording a maximum of 909 crop residue burning cases as of May 21.
FIRs and Penalties
According to the Punjab Pollution Control Board's action taken report dashboard, 767 FIRs have been filed across the state by the evening of May 20. Among these, Moga district accounted for the highest number of FIRs with 208 cases. In terms of environmental compensation, a total of Rs 7,80,000 has been realized from violators. Additionally, warning and show cause notices have been issued to 130 nodal and supervisory officers for failing to curb the practice.
National Comparison
On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh reported 111 farm fire cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 41 and Haryana with 9. Data from the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS), which tracks stubble burning incidents twice a year, reveals that Madhya Pradesh has contributed over 50% of the total crop residue burning cases in the last five years. Out of 265,065 cases recorded from 2022 to May 21, 2026, Madhya Pradesh accounted for 132,645, followed by Uttar Pradesh (61,514), Punjab (57,592), Haryana (13,134), and Delhi (180).
The persistent issue of stubble burning continues to pose environmental and health challenges, prompting authorities to intensify enforcement and awareness campaigns.
