JALANDHAR
Concerted efforts of District Administration Jalandhar to discourage stubble burning practices has started yielding results as Jalandhar has witnessed a massive dip in farm fire incidents this year. This year between September 15 and October 26, as many as 13 farm fire cases have been reported whereas over 275 such incidents were reported in the year 2021. Concerted efforts by Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann have yielded positive results over the past few years with only 77 cases reported in 2023, 22 in 2024 and 13 cases reported between September 15 and October 26 in corresponding years. Notably, the district administration had adopted a multi-pronged strategy to curb stubble burning practices including appointing cluster officers to keep a tab on such cases, imposing environmental compensation, carrying out awareness activities, aiding for crop residue management, and so on. Several measures have been taken by district administration to curtail stubble burning practices including management of over 1.6 lakh ton of paddy straw this year using ex-situ management techniques at boilers. Similarly, Chief Agriculture Officer Dr. Jaswinder Singh informed that a total of 1,171,500-hectare land was placed under paddy cultivation this year. Authorities have issued about eight challans so far under which environmental compensation worth Rs. 40,000 has also been imposed on violators besides making red entry in the revenue records. Ensuring availability of stubble management equipment to farmers, the district administration has delivered over 7000 such equipment at subsidized rates in Jalandhar. A series of awareness campaigns were carried out in the hotspot areas with focus on sensitizing farmers against the menace of stubble burning. over 113 awareness camps were held in the district. Appreciating the farmers for their contribution in fighting against menace of stubble burning, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal said that more efforts would be made across the district to further reduce such incidents. Meanwhile, he also appealed to the peasantry to not to resort to the stubble burning practices as the smog from the fire can aggravate problems for the asthma patients.