Punjab Stubble Burning Crisis: 2,347 Incidents Flagged, 647 FIRs Registered
Punjab Pollution Control Board reports 2,347 stubble burning incidents, leading to 647 FIRs and heavy fines as Delhi's air quality plummets.
As the paddy harvesting season reaches its peak in Punjab, the battle against agricultural residue fires has intensified. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has reported a staggering 2,347 incidents of stubble burning in Punjab as of November 4, 2026, prompting a massive crackdown by state authorities to curb the environmental menace.
Heavy Penalties and Legal Action
The administration has moved swiftly to penalize offenders. A total environmental fine of ₹40.37 lakh has been imposed across the state, with ₹23.05 lakh already recovered. The scale of the crackdown is evident in the following figures:
- FIRs: 647 First Information Reports have been registered.
- Revenue Records: "Red entries" have been made in the records for 723 cases.
- Warnings: 689 warning notices have been issued to farmers.
- Inspections: Out of 1,942 fields inspected, fires were confirmed at 868 locations, with environmental compensation imposed in 801 of those cases.
District-Wise Breakdown: The Hotspots
The data reveals that the crisis is not uniform across the state, with certain districts emerging as major hotspots for field fires. Tarn Taran has recorded the highest number of incidents, followed closely by other key regions:
- Tarn Taran: 558 incidents
- Ferozepur: 316 incidents
- Amritsar: 207 incidents
- Bathinda: 167 incidents
- Sangrur: 163 incidents
- Patiala: 110 incidents
In Patiala alone, authorities inspected 67 locations and confirmed fires at 24. This resulted in 21 FIRs, 10 "red entries" in revenue records, and 25 warning notices, with a total fine of ₹80,000 imposed.
Harvesting Progress vs. Environmental Challenge
According to the PPCB, harvesting has been completed in 85.10 per cent of Punjab's total paddy area, which spans 32.87 lakh hectares. Despite the high percentage of completion, the persistence of stubble burning remains a critical challenge for the administration, proving that inspections and fines alone have not yet fully deterred the practice.
Political Firestorm: Delhi's Air Quality Plummets
The situation has sparked a heated political row between the Punjab and Delhi governments. Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has openly contested claims made by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann regarding the status of paddy harvesting.
Speaking at the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Shastri Park, Sirsa accused the Punjab CM of providing misleading information. He alleged that while Mann claimed harvesting had not yet begun, the Punjab government's own data suggested that 77 per cent of the stubble had already been burnt.
The AQI Shock
Sirsa highlighted a dramatic decline in Delhi's air quality over a mere four-day window, linking the surge directly to the fires in Punjab:
"On October 30, the AQI in Delhi was 60; it rose to 117 on October 31, and by November 4, it reached 377. What happened in just four days to cause such severe pollution... When the air in Delhi was clean, the burning of stubble had not yet begun in Punjab."