Bathinda: Punjab recorded 137 farm fire cases on Sunday, taking the seasonal count to 5,972. Madhya Pradesh, which continues to trail Punjab, reported 379 cases, taking its tally to 3,399. Uttar Pradesh recorded 123 cases (1,071), Rajasthan 64 (1,538), Haryana 12 (242) and Uttarakhand three (219).The total number of farm fires reported across seven states on Sunday was 718, taking the cumulative count to 12,443. Punjab’s share of the total has declined to 48%.Five Punjab districts continue to figure among the 10 worst-affected districts across the states. Ferozepur remains the worst-hit with 817 cases, followed by Tarn Taran with 700. Sangrur is fourth with 689 cases, Bathinda fifth with 528 and Patiala eighth with 396.With farm fires continuing, enforcement action has also gathered pace. A total of 1,834 FIRs have been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant. Tarn Taran accounts for the highest number at 312, followed by Ferozepur (303), Patiala (215), Sangrur (191), Malerkotla (148) and Barnala (136).Red entries have been made in land records in 2,015 cases, including 342 in Ferozepur, 316 in Tarn Taran, 263 in Sangrur, 168 in Barnala and 139 in Patiala.Environmental compensation of Rs 1.08 crore has been imposed in 2,152 cases, of which Rs 40.40 lakh has been recovered. Warning and show-cause notices have been issued to 1,607 nodal and supervisory officers. Prosecution action has also been initiated against 35 supervisory officers under Section 14 of the Commission for Air Quality Management Act.According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS), stubble burning has been reported from 176 districts so far, including all 23 districts of Punjab.
