Conflict over stubble increasing in Punjab: Farmers being made villains, says SC

In Punjab, the conflict between the farmers and the administration is increasing. Protests are being held against the action being taken against the farmers burning stubble. Farmers are also angry because the government has not taken concrete measures for stubble management.

Meanwhile, during the hearing held on Tuesday on the stubble burning issue, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Punjab government and said that farmers are being made villains and no one is listening to them.

Police is registering FIRs against farmers who burn stubble. So far, cases have been registered against more than 1,100 farmers in the state and a fine of around Rs 2 crore has been imposed on them. Farmer organizations are protesting statewide against this.

In this sequence, farmers surrounded the Mini Secretariat in Patiala and parked trolleys at the gate. Whereas in Barnala, farmers deposited stubble in front of the DC office gate. In Fatehgarh Sahib, under the leadership of Bharatiya Kisan Union-Ekta Sidhupur state president Jagjit Singh Dalewal, farmers parked their trolleys laden with stubble on the roads. After being stopped by the police, they protested on the road.

On the other hand, in course of the hearing in this matter in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the court reprimanded the Punjab government. A two-member bench of the Supreme Court is hearing this matter. Justice Himanshu Dhulia said that farmers are being made villains and no one is listening to their problems. There must be some reasons for burning stubble. We need to consider this. Whereas Justice SK Kaul said that those who burn stubble should not be allowed to grow paddy. The Supreme Court said that Punjab should learn from Haryana regarding providing economic incentives to farmers.

The Supreme Court also said that the Center and the state should leave politics aside and consider the issue of how paddy cultivation can be discouraged in Punjab. If allegations and counter-allegations continue like this, a drought situation will arise in the state. The court has fixed the next hearing of the case on December 5.

The total cases of stubble burning in Punjab have increased to 35,093. The highest number of cases of stubble burning have been registered in Fazilka. As many as 1,085 flying squads, including police and civil authorities, are monitoring stubble burning.

Meanwhile, Bathinda remains the most polluted city in the state with an average AQI of 302. After this, AQI was recorded at 247 in Jalandhar, 220 in Ludhiana, 209 in Patiala, 207 in Amritsar, 190 in Mandi Gobindgarh and 150 in Khanna.

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said demonstrations were held at 34 places in the state. He demanded that penalties imposed on farmers be withdrawn and sought a long-lasting solution for managing stubble.