Bathinda: Punjab recorded 175 stubble-burning cases on Sunday, the second-highest daily count of the ongoing paddy harvesting season, taking its tally to 1,514. The state accounted for over 71% of the 245 farm fires reported across seven states on Sunday, taking the combined count to 3,316.Punjab’s share of the cumulative tally stood at 45.6%. Rajasthan reported 33 cases on Sunday, Madhya Pradesh 28, Haryana seven and Uttarakhand two.For the entire season, Tarn Taran remained the worst-affected district with 472 cases, followed by Amritsar with 191.Across the seven states, Rajasthan’s Baran and Bundi districts reported 207 and 201 cases, respectively.As enforcement intensified, Punjab registered 317 FIRs under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for disobedience of orders issued by public servants. Tarn Taran accounted for 224 FIRs, followed by Amritsar (24), Kapurthala (17), Jalandhar (13) and Ferozepur (11).Environmental compensation of Rs 22.9 lakh was imposed in 458 cases, of which Rs 16.4 lakh was recovered. Red entries were made in land records in 365 cases, including 227 in Tarn Taran and 65 in Amritsar. Warning and show-cause notices were issued to 490 nodal and supervisory officers.According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS), farm fires have been reported from 160 districts across the seven states, including all 23 districts of Punjab.
