Stubble Burning: Red Entries Made in Land Records of Over 4k Farmers in Punjab

Over 80% of the state's wheat has been sown, and 97% of the paddy harvest has already been completed, according to the agriculture department.

What is a red entry

Red entries may have an impact, but that has yet to be determined. Once a red entry has been made, a farmer might not be able to sell, mortgage, or take out a loan against the affected land, depending on the state government's decision.

In addition, environmental compensation (penalty) has been imposed on 6,180 farmers for violating government instructions not to burn paddy straws. However, the rate recovery was minimal because, as of November 14, just Rs 12,500 of the Rs 1.58 crore in penalties imposed against farmers had been collected. Up to the conclusion of the season (November 30) last year, Rs 2.85 crore in penalties had been imposed, but just Rs 2 lakh had been paid back.

Farmers are subject to environmental compensation (penalty) as per National Green Tribunal (NGT) guidelines. According to NGT orders, it has directed the state government agencies to charge farmers who burn stubble up to 2 acres with a fine of 2,500, 5,000 for farmers who burn stubble between 2 and 5 acres, and 15,000 for farmers who burn stubble over 5 acres or more. The fine is collected as compensation for the environmental harm that was done.

These data were accumulated till November 14, according to a senior government official, and the final tally is expected by November 30, which is considered the end of the Kharif harvest.

As of Nov. 14, according to statistics produced by the state revenue department, monitoring teams had visited 28,675 sites out of a total of 45,323 farm fires, and of those, 9,502 had been positively identified as having burnt paddy straw.

According to government sources, Patiala district farmers are dealing with the majority of entries this season (1,824), with 97% of the locations (1,890) proven to contain burnt paddy straw.

It's interesting to note that Sangrur, the home district of the Punjab chief minister, has fewer sites where burned paddy straw has been found (834). In 821 of the confirmed instances of paddy straw burning in this area or 98% of all incidents, red entries have been recorded. Environmental compensation was mandated for 1,836 farmers in Patiala and 821 in Sangrur.

All (32) of the incidents in district Malerkotla (100%) that had burnt paddy straw confirmed were highlighted in red. Twelve farmers in the district have been ordered to pay environmental compensation.

A senior official indicated that it's a work in progress and that a clear image will emerge after the conclusion of the season when all the figures are compiled regarding the variation in the number of farm fires, red entries, and penalties imposed in the districts.

The trends of stubble burning this year will be widely analyzed, according to Punjab Chief Secretary VK Janjua, and a plan would be created for the upcoming season, for which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already made an announcement. Following the conclusion of this season, plans for a micro-level intervention will begin, he added.