Punjab has recorded 5,785 incidents of stubble burning so far this harvesting season, according to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) report released on November 13 and reported by IANS on November 14. The figure is up from 5,517 incidents in the PPCB tally reported on November 12 (data to November 11) — 268 more farm fires in two days, even as nearly 98 per cent of paddy harvesting has been completed across the state.

Where the fires are

Ferozepur district tops the state with 794 incidents. Patiala has recorded 388 incidents, Ludhiana 300 and Fazilka 211.

The enforcement numbers

According to the PPCB report:

5,312 fields were inspected; 2,347 fire incidents were physically verified.

2,095 environmental compensation (EC) cases were registered, and penalties of Rs 2,09,15,000 (just over Rs 2.09 crore) were imposed. Of this, Rs 39,35,000 has been recovered so far — under one-fifth of the amount imposed.

1,669 FIRs have been registered in connection with stubble burning.

Red entries have been made in 1,971 land revenue records, and 1,603 warning notices have been issued.

In Patiala district, 162 EC cases were registered with fines of Rs 8.15 lakh, of which Rs 3 lakh has been recovered; the district also recorded 209 FIRs and 136 red entries.

The enforcement totals have risen sharply since the previous report. In the tally reported on November 12, environmental compensation stood at Rs 85.90 lakh and FIRs at 1,259; the November 13 report takes those figures to Rs 2.09 crore and 1,669.

The accountability gap in the same report

The PPCB report also states that, as of November 13, no charge sheets had been issued and no suspension orders had been passed against any nodal or supervisory officer in the state. In other words, the enforcement recorded so far falls on farmers — through fines, FIRs and red entries in their land records — while the report records no action against any official responsible for supervision.

These are the board's own figures. What the numbers do not show is how many of the 1,669 FIRs will lead to prosecution, or whether the remaining environmental compensation — more than Rs 1.69 crore of the Rs 2.09 crore imposed — will actually be recovered.