Farm fires at new high; FIRs by 2 NCR states: Nil
PATIALA/NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: At least 50,000 instances of farm fires have been recorded since October 1 in two National Capital Region (NCR) states, but not a single police case has been registered over any of them in Punjab -- where most of the incidents have been recorded -- and Uttar Pradesh.
Till November 9, there were 49,273 farm fires seen in Punjab alone. In UP, this number was 2,172. In both these states, the enforcement of a ban against burning crop residue first slackened last year, and has now virtually ceased with no FIR (first information report with police) being registered. This has correlated with a spike in the number of such incidents compared to recordings in 2018 and 2019.
The second-highest numbers of farm fires are typically reported from Haryana -- this year, 6,929 farm fires were recorded till November 9. Haryana Police officials said they have not yet collated information from districts on how many FIRs have been registered, seeking more time to provide the data. But data from one district, Karnal, showed that 70 FIRs were lodged.
The main reasons why officials are going easy on enforcement are the farm protests and upcoming elections -- Punjab and UP are due to go to polls early next year.
“We are now mute spectators. There is clear direction not to register any FIR against any farmer. The government does not want to anger farmers, who are a significant vote bank. Already, the farmers have been protesting,” said a deputy commissioner in Punjab, asking not to be named.
In Punjab, the number of FIRs registered in 2019 was 1,737, which fell to 48 in 2020. This year, the number is zero.
The official quoted above added that last year too, the administration went easy since farmers had begun protesting the Union government’s new farm laws in August 2020. That protest continues.
Farmers are being issued challans for Environment Compensation fines at the rate of ₹1,500 per acre, but that too has remained only on paper since no recoveries are being made.
Farm fires contribute some of the largest share of ultra-fine PM2.5 pollutants that choke the NCR region in the pre-win--
ter weeks every year. This year, the number of farm fires has reached a new high for this late in November -- incidents usually begin to come down after November 7 but data accessed by HT show the number of fires on November 8 and 9 were the highest for these two dates since 2012, the earliest year for which data is available. Attempts to tackle the problem have failed, with challenges spanning deep-rooted issues pertaining to farm equipment, economics and, lately, politics. In 2019, the Supreme Court formally ordered a ban, which states have implemented using section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The lack of action appears to correlate with a rise in incidents in recent years. In 2018 and 2019, till November 9, the total number of farm fires in Punjab and Haryana was below 50,000, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Suomi-National Polarorbiting Partnership (SuomiNPP) mission. In 2019, the year the ban was announced, it was the lowest since 2012 at 41,706. But in 2020, this number shot up to 65,753 in the October 1-November 9 period. This year, it stands at 56,202, and many experts warn that the process has simply been delayed because of an extended monsoon. Farmer unions have said that they need more financial incentive to stop burning paddy stubble, which is a cheap and quick way to clear their fields in the short window between harvesting of summer crops (which includes paddy) and the sowing of winter crops (most popularly, wheat). “Our demand is very simple. With rise in diesel prices and other farm machinery items, the in-situ and ex-situ management of paddy straw has become very expensive. Farmers are not able to spend ₹3,000-₹5,000 extra to handle straw. Farmers are already under financial stress, if government wants that farmers should handle straw, they must provide ₹5,000 per acre as incentive for handling straw. Otherwise unions will continue to oppose any penal action,” said Jagtar Singh, a leader of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan). Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) nodal officer Samita, who goes by her first name only, said the agency only reports farm fires to respective districts, and action is left to the district administration and other concerned departments. “We are daily sending report to deputy commissioners who have to initiate action as per the roles defined by Punjab government,” she said. In Uttar Pradesh, experts from the pollution control board said they have recorded a roughly 18% increase in farm fires this year compared to 2020 in the month of November. VK Singh, the chief environmental engineer of UP Pollution Control Board, said most agricultural fires were reported from Saharanpur, Meerut, Baghpat, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Hapur, Etawah, Mainpuri, Unnao, Maharajganj, Bahraich and Gonda districts. “West UP districts have more concentration of farm fires as compared to east UP districts,” Singh said. In UP, too, the enforcement of the ban has gradually collapsed. In 2020, more than 2,000 FIRs were registered over stubble burning by local administrations. In 2019, the number of FIRs was around 3,200. However, majority of these FIRs were later taken back by the district administration as anger over the farm laws began to spread last year. A farmer in a UP district echoed concerns voiced by the BKU representative quoted above. “The use of special combines and spraying of enzyme solution to remove stubble cost us more. Farmers with large landholdings may be able to afford them, but small farmers like us don’t have any option apart from burning it,” said Sarwajeet Singh, a farmer of the Kalan area of Shahajahanpur district in western UP. The Delhi government has been pushing states and the Union government to nudge other states and farmers to use what is known as the Pusa decomposer, a microbial bioenzyme that can decompose crop residues, including stubble from paddy.