Haryana: 133 farmers penalised for burning stubble in Kaithal

Kaithal (Haryana) [India], Nov 2 (ANI): The district administration has penalised 133 farmers for resorting to stubble burning with the minimum fine of Rs 2,500.
"Each defaulter has paid at least Rs 2,500 as fine. The highest fine imposed was Rs 15,000. These fines levied after taking stock of the area of their land. FIR will also be filed against those who fail to pay the fines," said Pawan Sharma, Agriculture Deputy Director, Kaithal district.
"For the past one and a half months, the officials of the Revenue Department, Panchayats and Agriculture Department have been assigned the task of identifying the cases of stubble burning and penalise the farmers," he said.
"This time 898 cases have come to light out of which 456 cases were found to be fake. As compared to last year, the straw burning in Kaithal has reduced by 60 per cent," added Sharma.
Farmers in Haryana and Punjab usually burn the crop residue after harvesting paddy in the autumn season in order to clear the fields for the summer harvest. Smoke from these two states travels to the national capital each year, leading to a spike in the air pollution level.
According to the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), straw burning has increased this year.
"If we see the records from September 23 to October 21, the fire incidents have increased from last year. So far, 3,466 incidents have taken place. Last year till October 21, it was 2,575," Anil Sood, Head, ACM division, PRSC, had said while speaking to ANI in Ludhiana.
Tarn Taran was placed at the top of the list of fire incidents with 736 cases. Amritsar was second in the list with 597 cases followed by Patiala with 439 fire incidents. In Ferozabadpur, around 311 fire incidents were reported while in Gurudaspur around 239 such incidents were recorded.
To combat the menace of air pollution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi has announced the implementation of the Odd-Even scheme from November 4 to 15, 2019. He has repeatedly said that the smog from the nearby states caused by the burning of crop residue is the major cause of pollution in the region. (ANI)