Stubble burning continues in Punjab despite 1,442 FIRs, Rs 7.28 crore penalties
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Patiala: Punjab has reported 4,657 stubble-burning incidents this season, with authorities registering 1,442 FIRs and imposing environmental penalties totalling Rs 7.28 crore, of which Rs 3.36 crore has been recovered, according to the latest data from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
The figures come as harvesting has been completed across 93.70 per cent of the state's 32.87 lakh hectares of paddy area, with enforcement teams continuing field inspections to identify and verify cases of crop residue burning.
As of November 9, officials had inspected 3,845 fields where fires were reported, confirming physical evidence of stubble burning at 1,675 locations.
Tarn Taran recorded the highest number of incidents at 659, followed by Ferozepur with 621, Sangrur with 508 and Bathinda with 412.
Ferozepur topped the list in FIR registrations with 365 cases, followed by Tarn Taran with 307. Sangrur and Bathinda reported 80 and 19 FIRs, respectively.
In Patiala, 299 incidents were reported, with burning confirmed in 122 locations following inspections in 195 cases. The district registered 86 FIRs and imposed penalties of Rs 43.50 lakh, recovering Rs 15 lakh.
Authorities also made red entries in land records in 35 Patiala cases and issued 185 warning notices.