On 15th November, the state of Punjab reported 2,544 stubble-burning incidents, raising concerns over the inability of the state machinery to follow the Supreme Court’s instructions to stop the practice. Wednesday recorded the second-highest single-day farm fire incidents of the season. Interestingly, the increase in stubble-burning incidents occurred while a flying squad of the Central Pollution Control Board was monitoring the situation in 22 districts.
Not to forget, the apex court has put the responsibility of controlling farm fires on the Station House Officer (SHO) under the supervision of the Director General of Police (DGP) and the state’s Chief Secretary. Over 250 FIRs have already been registered in the state against the farmers, but the matter is getting worse with every passing day. Farmers claimed that they indulged in the practice as the window to sow wheat was closing down, with the 20th of November being the last day to get the best yield for the season.
The state has reported 6,931 incidents of stubble burning in the past four days. The incidents went down to six two days before Diwali, when the Supreme Court categorically blamed Punjab for the poor Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi-NCR. However, within a few days, farmers restored the practice while the Delhi government, Punjab government, different agencies, political leaders, celebrities and activists prepared ground to blame the Hindu Diwali festival for the pollution.
On the day of Diwali, which was 12th November, there were 987 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab. On 13th November, there were 1,624 incidents of farm fires. On 14th November, there was a slight spike with 1,776 incidents of stubble burning, and on 15th November, farmers burnt stubble at 2,544 locations across the state. District Bathinda was the worst among them when it came to farm fires. 5th November has seen the highest number of stubble burning incidents, with 3,230 farm fires reported in Punjab.
Regarding AQI in Punjab, Bathinda was the worst city, with AQI reaching 359. Mandi Gobindgarh was at 284, grabbing the second position. The other cities with poor AQI in Punjab included Patiala (234), Jalandhar (228), Ludhiana (164), Khanna (162), and Amritsar (160).
On the other hand, the AQI in Delhi-NCR is getting worse with each passing day. Anand Vihar in Delhi had AQI at 411 at 9 AM on 16th November. IGI Airport was at 404, Nehru Nagar at 450, Punjabi Bagh at 430, PUSA Delhi at 297 and Wazirpur at 434.
According to government data, there have been 30,661 incidents of stubble burning reported in Punjab this season. The Punjab government has given the excuse that the incidents have come down exponentially in the past two years. If we look at the data, it is somewhat true, as there were 76,590 incidents reported in 2020, 71,304 in 2021 and 49,922 in 2022. However, it cannot be an excuse to let 30,000+ incidents occur in 2023 despite claims that the AAP-led Punjab government was working to control stubble burning in the state.
Interestingly, the AAP-led Delhi government and ministers, including the Chief Minister of Delhi, kept blaming Punjab before they came into power in the state for the pollution in Delhi. Last year, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann promised to end stubble burning in 2023 in a press conference to assure the people of Delhi.
However, as they failed to fulfill the promise, the AAP leaders, including spokesperson and environmental minister of Delhi, Gopal Rai, started blaming Haryana and UP for the pollution in Delhi, giving clean chit to Punjab. Even on 15th November, Gopal Rai said in a statement that as the wind was not flowing in Delhi, the pollution created by firecrackers would remain in the atmosphere in the national capital for 2-3 days.
It is worth noting that Punjab hasn’t been blamed by AAP leaders for disregarding the issue of farmers polluting the air in Delhi-NCR. In fact, the Apex Court acknowledged that Punjab’s farm fires are one the biggest contributing factors. However, instead of pointing fingers at Punjab, Gopal Rai accused BJP leaders of inciting Delhi’s residents to set off fireworks, which was banned and led to the spike in pollution. Interestingly, the data indicates that the AQI briefly increased on 13th November due to Diwali fireworks. However, it was just half of the AQI before the rain arrived in Delhi.