Punjab sees season’s sharpest surge of 147 farm fires, tally climbs to 890

As autumn deepens and the golden paddy fields of Punjab prepare for their next sowing, a familiar haze has begun to return to the skies. On Monday, the state witnessed its highest single-day spike of 147 farm fires this season, pushing the total number of such incidents since September 15 to 890, according to official data.

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) reported that Tarn Taran and Amritsar — districts often at the heart of Punjab’s agrarian landscape — accounted for the bulk of these fires, even as authorities renewed their pleas to farmers to end the practice of stubble burning. The figures mark a steep jump of 537 cases since October 20, when the tally stood at just 353.

According to the PPCB’s latest data, Tarn Taran recorded 249 farm fires, followed by Amritsar (169), Ferozepur (87), Sangrur (79), Patiala (46), Gurdaspur (41), Bathinda (38) and Kapurthala (35). A few districts, including Pathankot and Rupnagar, have so far remained untouched by the flames, while SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur reported three incidents each. Malerkotla recorded four cases, and Ludhiana nine.

The seasonal ritual of stubble burning — an expedient but environmentally costly method to clear paddy residue — continues to cast its shadow over North India’s air quality. Each year, as farmers race against time to sow the Rabi (wheat) crop after harvesting paddy, they set fire to their fields, sending plumes of smoke drifting toward the Delhi-NCR region, where air quality typically plummets in late October and November.

This year, Punjab’s paddy cultivation spans 31.72 lakh hectares, of which nearly 60 per cent has been harvested as of 26 October. To curb the burning, the state has imposed environmental compensation fines worth Rs 19.8 lakh in 386 cases, with Rs 13.4 lakh already collected.

Authorities have also registered 302 FIRs under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for disobedience of public orders and have marked 337 red entries in land records—an action that prevents erring farmers from obtaining loans or selling their property.

While enforcement has intensified, the challenge remains deep-rooted in economics and time constraints. With mechanised residue management still costly and the sowing window for wheat short, many farmers see little alternative to the matchstick.

Still, there are glimmers of progress. Punjab has recorded a 70 per cent drop in farm fire incidents this year — 10,909 in 2024 compared to 36,663 in 2023. The long-term trend tells a more complex story: 49,922 fires in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019, and 50,590 in 2018, with Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda, and Amritsar consistently featuring among the top violators.

As the air thickens once more and the horizon blurs in a smoky veil, Punjab finds itself caught between the imperatives of agriculture and the imperatives of the atmosphere — a balancing act that grows more urgent with every harvest.

With PTI inputs