Chandigarh The month of October did not come, but this year incidents of stubble burning have started. There have been cases of stubble burning in Punjab. According to the information, 14 cases have been registered in Punjab due to burning straw. In the year 2024, 10900 incidents of stubble burning were reported in Punjab. It was less than 71304 cases of straw burning in 2021. Whereas, the Haryana government had said that last year there were only 900 cases of stubble burning. Every year there are cases of stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and western UP from October to December. This causes haze and air pollution in North India including Delhi.
Recently, the Supreme Court showed a tough attitude on burning straw. A bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gawai had said that if some farmers are sent to jail, the rest will also get a lesson. The Supreme Court had also raised the question that why do governments do not take strict action in cases of stubble burning? Cases of stubble burning and air pollution are heard in the Supreme Court every year. The Supreme Court has given strict orders to prevent stubble burning. Governments also provide subsidy to prevent farmers from burning stubble. Apart from this, machines also come to remove Parali from the field, but the straw burns every year and there is pouring air pollution.
The central government has imposed a double fine to prevent farmers from burning stubble. If farmers with less than 2 acres of land burn the straw, then every incident is fined Rs 5000. Whereas, if farmers with 2 to 5 acres of land burn 10000 rupees and more than 5 acres of land, then there is a provision to impose a fine of Rs 30000 for burning stubble on them every time. The use of chemical is also encouraged to convert Parali into manure, but farmers see the most suitable to set fire to the straw. The reason for this is that there is no expenditure in burning the straw.