Centre doubles penalty for stubble burning | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: With stubble burning likely to peak in the next few days, the environment ministry has doubled the penalty for burning paddy crop residue by farmers. The revised fines range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 per incidence, depending on the size of the offender’s farm.
The revised penalty will be imposed on violators with immediate effect in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and NCR areas of UP and Rajasthan.
Notified on Wednesday, the rules specify that farmers with less than two-acre farm land will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 per incidence, if they are found burning stubble.
Farmers to pay penalty of up to Rs30,000 for each incidence of burning paddy crop residue
Those having two acres or more but less than five acres will have to pay Rs 10,000 per incidence; and those having more than five acres of land will have to pay Rs 30,000 per incidence.
The notification replaced the Imposition, collection and utilisation of environmental compensation for stubble burning rules, 2023, which had provisions of penalties of Rs 2,500, Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 per incidence, depending on the three land size categories.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining areas has been given the power under the rules to impose penalty (environmental compensation) on erring farmers.
The commission accordingly on Thursday authorised all nodal/supervisory officers, appointed by the govts of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, to impose and collect environmental compensation, as per the revised rates. The violators will have to deposit the penalty either in cash or demand draft or through electronic modes into the account of respective state pollution control boards or pollution control committees “within 30 days from the date of challan”.
Stubble burning cases cross 4 lakh in 6 states in 6th year, 74% in Punjab
Crop residue burning has decreased in the ongoing paddy harvesting season, but it has still reached close to four lakh cases recorded in six study states in the sixth year. Punjab remains the worst affected, accounting for over 74% of the cases. Out of the 400,461 cases recorded in six states, Punjab recorded 296,670 cases, followed by 50,242 cases in Madhya Pradesh.
Before the start of the ongoing season, Punjab, as per the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modeling from Space (CREAMS), had recorded over 75% of burning cases, with the state reporting 291,629 cases out of a total of 387,946. With fewer burning cases in the ongoing season, Punjab has decreased its share by 1%. Crop residue burning is recorded by CREAMS using satellite data from September 15 to November 30.
Though Punjab and Haryana have faced criticism from various agencies for worsening air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR), Haryana has recorded even fewer stubble burning cases than Madhya Pradesh, at 24,361.