Punjab farmers say fine is less expensive, continue to burn stubble

PATIALA: The environmental compensation ordered by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that was to be charged from the farmers violating the ban on stubble burning across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) has hardly proved to be a deterrent to farmers in Punjab, as they have picked penalties over the cost of managing the straw in their farms.



The NGT orders came into force in 2016. The environmental court had ordered that punitive action be taken against the farmers who violate the orders against setting the crop residue on fire. Punjab had already issued an order in 2013 under Section 19(5) of the Air Act of 1981, banning the burning of crop residue.

The NGT had ordered that a fine of Rs 2,500 per incident of crop burning be charged from marginal farmers with a land holding of up to two acres, while those who own two to five acres of land be charged Rs 5,000 and the farmers owning over five acres be levied an environmental compensation of Rs 15,000.

However, the farmers contend that access to straw management equipment comes at a higher cost than environmental compensation. According to Jagtar Singh Shamla, who hails from a village near Nabha subdivision, straw management equipment is beyond the means of a marginal farmer. Moreover, he said, the cost doesn’t end at acquiring the equipment. Running the equipment in the fields means spending additional money on diesel and labour. “So many farmers prefer to pay the environmental compensation,” said Shamla.

Kartar Singh of Daroli village near Pasiana said, “The combine harvesters are now charging Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 extra per acre. The farmers then have to use harrows at least five times on the fields which increase the expense on diesel and labour. In case, we engage labourers to clean the fields they demand Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 an acre. It also delays the sowing of the next crop by several days. Instead, farmers pay Rs 2,500 of Rs 5,000 as environmental compensation and sow the next crop without any delay.”

Following the orders of the NGT, the state has so far imposed environmental compensation of Rs 145.84 lakh in 124,693 cases of stubble burning in the last two years. During the paddy harvest in 2016, as many as 80,879 stubble burning cases were recorded through satellite imagery, prompting the authorities to impose environmental compensation of Rs 73.22 lakh out of which Rs 14.05 lakh were recovered.

In 2017, 43,814 such cases were reported calling for environmental compensation of Rs 72.62 lakh out of which Rs 5.51 lakh was recovered.

During the wheat harvest, 15,378 cases were reported in 2017 on which Rs 61 lakh fine was imposed but only Rs 18 lakh was deposited with the state government and in 2018, 11,095 instances of crop residue fires were reported on which Rs 30.02 lakh fines were imposed but only Rs 2.05 lakh was collected.

During the current season, when harvesting has been delayed due to the untimely rains, the state authorities have till Monday imposed environmental compensation of Rs 990,000 in 894 instances of stubble burning out of which Rs 327,500 has been recovered.

A senior official in the state government on condition of anonymity said that the chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, has on several occasions stated that the state cannot harden its stand against the farmers who were already in financial distress. “However, a punitive action along with an elaborate infrastructure of in-situ stubble management equipment which is being put in place will go a long way in bringing down the cases of stubble burning in the state,” he said.