STUBBLE BURNING CASES IN PUNJAB CONTINUE TO DECLINE FOR THIRD DAY; 1084 FIRs REGISTERED AGAINST VIOLATORS

Chandigarh News: With the Punjab Police continuing to make persistent efforts to prevent stubble burning, Punjab witnessed another low with only 634 cases of farm fires, the lowest since Diwali, reported in the state on Monday, said Special Director General of Police (Spl DGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla, who is also a state Police Nodal Officer to keep check on stubble burning.

    “This is consecutively for the third day that the state has witnessed the significant downfall of at least 28.8 per cent in the cases of stubble burning,” he said, while adding that on Sunday and Saturday, the state had recorded 740 and 637 farm fire cases respectively.

     Pertinently, complying with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court to ensure a full stop on stubble burning, DGP Gaurav Yadav appointed Spl DGP Arpit Shukla as the Police Nodal Officer to monitor action against stubble burning. The DGP Punjab has also been holding daily meetings with all the senior officers, Range Officers, CPs/SSPs and Station House Officers (SHOs) to review the cases of stubble burning in the state, and has also issued show cause notices to SSPs of those districts, which have witnessed a high number of stubble burning cases.

    Sharing details on action taken against violators, Spl DGP Arpit Shukla said that Police teams have registered 1084 first information reports (FIRs), while, penalties worth Rs 1.87 crores were imposed in 7990 cases since November 8, 2023. Red entries have also been made in revenue records of 340 farmers during this span, he added.

    As many as 1085 flying squads comprising Police and Civil Officials have been keeping vigil at stubble burning, while, CPs/SSPs have been holding meetings with Kisan leaders at a district level and DSPs are holding meetings with Kisan leaders at the block level to sensitise them about the Supreme Court orders. At least 2587 such meetings have been held since November 8.

    Pertinently, Spl DGP Arpit Shukla has himself hit the ground running by personally visiting at least three Police districts— Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar and Jagraon— to hold review meetings with the field officers and review ground level situation of stubble burning. This significant downfall in farm fire cases was a result of untiring efforts by the police personnel and officials of Civil Administration working at the ground level to curb the menace of stubble burning in the state, he said.

    He once again urged farmers to cooperate and not put matchstick on crop residue, which is dangerous for the environment as well as for the health of children.

     Meanwhile, depending on the area and size of the Police Station, a sufficient number of additional patrolling parties are already activated, while, flying squads have also been keeping vigil on stubble burning.