Punjab govt fines farmers crores for stubble burning, then takes a surprising turn

In fact, at a meeting between ministers and farmer union leaders on Tuesday, authorities reportedly assured the farmers that no action would be taken against them from the recovery point of view.

“We specifically discussed the heavy fines imposed on farmers in the name of EC. Farmers were fined Rs 50,000, Rs 1 lakh or even more. We were assured that farmers would not be pressured to deposit fines,” Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Sidhupur and convenor of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), told The Indian Express.

The meeting on Tuesday was held with the SKM (non-political), which comprises 15 farmer unions in Punjab, and 18 farmer unions of North India led by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) of Punjab.

“A few landlords and government employees must have deposited the fines to avoid any action. Otherwise, small farmers have not deposited even a penny… they cannot deposit such hefty fines. We discussed this matter in the panel committee meeting held on Tuesday in Punjab Bhawan and ministers told us that they will not pressure farmers to pay EC. Let us see if they stick to their promise or not,” Sarwan Singh Pandher, the convenor of 18 farmer unions of North India, added.

Stubble burning highest in Sangrur

This paddy season, Punjab witnessed 36,663 stubble-burning incidents – around 27 per cent less as compared to the previous season. The maximum incidents, 5,618, occurred in Sangrur, the home district of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Sangrur district also registered a 6.7 per cent increase in stubble-burning incidents, followed by Amritsar, where 1,573 such incidents were reported, a 2 per cent increase compared to last year. Pathankot, on the other hand, saw a 75 per cent increase in stubble-burning incidents, from 1 to 4. All the other 20 districts witnessed a drop in stubble-burning cases.

Maximum fines imposed in Amritsar

The maximum fine for burning stubble was imposed by the Amritsar district administration – Rs 24.45 lakh in 976 cases. Of this, only Rs 7 lakh has been recovered till date. While the Tarn Taran administration imposed an EC of Rs 23.85 lakh in 954 cases (Rs 9.17 lakh has been recovered so far), the Ferozepur district administration imposed an EC of Rs 23.72 lakh in 924 cases (Rs 1.85 lakh recovered) followed by Ludhiana, which imposed an EC of Rs 16.72 lakh in 1,210 cases (Rs 6.17 lakh recovered). Though Sangrur saw maximum stubble-burning incidents in the state, EC of Rs 15.15 lakh was only imposed in 588 cases (only Rs 50,000 recovered).

5 districts with zero recovery

In Mansa, an EC of Rs 2.18 lakh was imposed in 859 cases with zero recovery. Similarly, in Faridkot, fines of Rs 15.75 lakh were imposed in 630 cases with zero recovery. Mohali, Moga and Kapurthala districts also have zero recoveries to date. Fines worth Rs 1.05 lakh, Rs 10.75 lakh and Rs 96,000 (approximately) had been imposed on farmers in these districts, respectively.