Bathinda: Punjab recorded five fresh stubble-burning incidents on Friday, taking the season’s tally to 32 in 11 days.Amritsar accounts for the highest number of crop residue burning incidents at 18, followed by Tarn Taran with five, Ferozepur four, Gurdaspur two, and Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar and Patiala with one each.As farm fires begin to pick up, enforcement action has also started. Environmental compensation (EC) totalling Rs 40,000 has been imposed in eight cases, of which Rs 10,000 has been recovered. Red entries have been made in land records in five cases, while warning/show-cause notices have been issued to four nodal or supervisory officers.The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) began recording stubble-burning incidents for the current season on Sept 15, when two cases were detected in Tarn Taran. Three more cases were reported on Sept 16, while Sept 17 saw none.One incident each was recorded on Sept 18 and 19 before the daily count jumped to eight on Sept 20. This was followed by five cases on Sept 21, four on Sept 22, two on Sept 23 and one on Sept 24. Five fresh incidents were reported on Friday.Punjab had witnessed a significant decline in farm fires last year, recording 5,114 incidents in 2025, against 10,909 in 2024.The central government has introduced new draft rules for stubble burning targeting the Delhi-NCR region and adjoining states to curb winter air pollution. As per draft rules there is provision that farmlands where stubble burning is detected will receive an adverse red entry in land revenue records lasting for 15 months. The red entry can restrict farmers from securing agricultural loans or selling the designated property until it expires. The 15-month period doubles to 30 months if another fire occurs on the same land or if the owner fails to clear environmental compensation dues. The environmental compensation is Rs 5000 for stubble burning in less than 2 acres, Rs 10,000 for 2 to 5 acres and Rs 30,000 for over 5 acres.
