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2h ago

Punjab Designates 663 Villages as Stubble-Burning Hotspots, Deploys 8,000-Member Force

Officials report 27 early-season fires, with floods blamed for an earlier start.

The season of farm fires has already begun in Punjab with the first blaze reported from Amritsar on September 16. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)
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Overview

  • Hotspots were identified using three years of data showing extensive burning, covering villages across Sangrur, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Moga, Barnala, Mansa, Tarn Taran and Faridkot.
  • The Parali Protection Force of about 8,000 personnel is fielding daily geo-tagged Action Taken Reports via a PPCB–PRSC mobile app to verify and suppress fires.
  • PPCB data show 27 incidents since September 15, including 18 in Amritsar, five in Tarn Taran, three in Patiala and one in Ferozepur.
  • Authorities have imposed Rs 1 lakh environmental compensation on offenders, and the Supreme Court questioned the state on September 17 about arresting repeat violators.
  • The state has sanctioned 15,613 crop-residue management machines and drawn up a Rs 500-crore paddy-straw plan, with targeted outreach such as five mobile vans covering 397 Sangrur villages over 18 days.