Bathinda: Punjab recorded five stubble-burning cases on Monday, matching Uttar Pradesh’s cumulative tally for the season till Oct 12, after reporting no farm fires a day earlier. Madhya Pradesh continued to lead by a wide margin, logging 60 cases on Monday.




Of the 82 farm fires reported on Monday, Rajasthan accounted for 15, Punjab five and UP two. The cumulative tally across seven states reached 654, with Madhya Pradesh leading at 333 cases, followed by Punjab and UP with 123 each, Rajasthan (60), Haryana (7), Uttarakhand (3) and Delhi (1).




As per the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space ( CREAMS ), stubble burning has been reported from 89 districts so far, including 12 districts in Punjab. Amritsar topped the seven states with 61 stubble-burning cases so far, followed by UP’s Guna with 45 and Mathura with 41. Punjab’s Tarn Taran ranked fourth with 40 farm fire cases.




Penal action is being taken against violators, with 14 FIRs registered in Punjab under section 223 of the BNS (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant). An environmental compensation of Rs 2.3 lakh has been imposed in 44 cases, of which Rs 1.15 lakh has been recovered. Red entries have been made in in 21 cases, along with warning/show- cause notices issued to 42 nodal/supervisory officers.