80 arrested in Haryana, 1,036 cases recorded in Punjab

JIND/CHANDIGARH: The police have arrested 80 farmers in Jind district on Wednesday for burning paddy stubble in their fields. They were produced before the court, which released them on bail.


Farmers are upset over the arrest. The police had registered 301 FIRs against farmers for stubble burning in different parts of the district.

Talking to TOI, Jind deputy commissioner Aditya Dahiya said, "We have initiated the action under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code against farmers according to the guidelines of the Supreme Court. However, the administration thanks farmers as 80% decline in stubble burning cases has been reported this time as compare with last year. The administration has sanctioned Rs 29 lakh to farmers who didn't burn crop residue."

Jind deputy director of agriculture Surender Malik said, "This year, 589 cases of stubble burning cases have been reported. Almost 98% harvesting has been done in the area. We have formed teams to keep a tab on stubble burning in 380 villages."

Commenting over the arrests, Ratan Singh Mann, Bhartaiya Kisan Union state president, said, "The state government will face serious repercussions for the action. We will soon launch a protest, demanding the police to take back the cases against farmers. The farmer community is not responsible for the poor air quality and such action against them has to stop."

Meanwhile, in Punjab, 1,036 stubble burning were recorded on Wednesday.

So far total cases of crop residue burning this season have reached 52,003 since September 23.

In the corresponding last year, the number of such cases was 50,829.Muktsar had the highest cases of stubble burning on Wednesday at 343 followed by Fazilka (281), Ferozepur (124), Faridkot (77), Bathinda (62), Mansa (36), Moga (35), Sangrur (29), Tarn Taran (15), Ludhiana (13), Patiala (8), Amritsar (5) and Barnala (4).