Patiala, November 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab recorded 1,152 fresh stubble-burning incidents on Diwali, marking the highest single-day surge of the ongoing paddy harvesting season. The incidents reported on Sunday pushed the state’s cumulative farm fire count to 4,459 since September 15.
According to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Monitoring and Enforcement Actions Report, the cumulative count stood at 2,787 on November 5, rising to 3,144 on November 6 and 3,307 on November 7. With 1,152 fresh cases on November 8, the total jumped by 34.8 per cent in 24 hours. As many as 1,672 new incidents were recorded in just three days.
Patiala district also witnessed a sharp increase, with its farm fire count rising from 196 on November 7 to 288 on November 8. The district had harvested 96 per cent of its total paddy area of 2.314 lakh hectares. Of 157 farms inspected, stubble burning was confirmed at 94 locations. Environmental compensation was imposed in 68 cases, with fines totalling Rs 3.45 lakh, of which Rs 1.25 lakh has been recovered. The district also registered 77 FIRs and made red entries in the revenue records of 33 farmers.
Tarn Taran recorded the highest number of farm fires at 654, followed by Ferozepur with 592 and Sangrur with 488. Bathinda reported 406 incidents, Patiala 288, Amritsar 247, Barnala 230, Ludhiana 193, Moga 188, Faridkot 170, Mansa 149, Kapurthala 139, Gurdaspur 125, Fazilka 122, Muktsar 113 and Jalandhar 98.
At the state level, 2,998 farms had been inspected by November 8, with stubble burning confirmed at 1,310 locations. Burning marks were detected in another 122 non-AFL areas. Environmental compensation was imposed in 1,228 cases, with total fines of Rs 62.55 lakh. Of this, Rs 32.60 lakh has been recovered, while Rs 29.95 lakh remains outstanding.
The state has registered 884 FIRs and made red entries in the revenue records of 1,017 farmers. Authorities have also issued 1,103 show-cause notices to nodal and supervisory officers over their monitoring and enforcement responsibilities. Prosecution proceedings have been initiated against 18 supervisory officers under Section 14 of the CAQM Act. The report recorded no charge sheets or suspension orders.
By November 8, 91.40 per cent of Punjab’s total paddy area, spread across 32.87 lakh hectares, had been harvested. Despite the progress, the sharp rise in farm fires on Diwali has posed a fresh challenge to the administration’s efforts to discourage stubble burning.
Authorities have been running awareness campaigns to encourage alternative crop residue management methods while intensifying enforcement through financial penalties, FIRs and entries in revenue records.
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