The Punjab government on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of FIRs lodged against farmers for stubble burning at a time when the state has witnessed over 70,000 incidents of farm fires so far.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi announced the move after holding a meeting with leaders of 32 farmers’ unions and BKU (Ekta Ugrahan). He also agreed to the majority of the demands laid down by farmers.
Among other key demands accepted by the CM, apart from cancellation of FIRs for stubble burning, were increasing the compensation for pink bollworm-hit cotton growers, expediting payment to paddy growers whose land records have not been uploaded online and granting jobs to heirs of farmers who died during the farmers’ protest.
“We have agreed to their demands. The farmers are fully satisfied. I even thanked them for waging such a long struggle for the sake of Punjab’s future,” the CM said.
With assembly elections approaching, the decision seems to be taken with an eye on one of the biggest vote banks in the state. Political observers say Channi was trying to woo farmers and stop them from leaning towards his predecessor, Captain Amarinder Singh, who has also tried to court the farmer leaders.
The former chief minister was also reportedly in consultation with some farmers leaders and even tried to convince the Narendra Modi government to show ‘flexibility’ by accepting the farmer’s pleas on the agri laws.
Party insiders say that Channi was aware of the importance of getting the farmers on board ahead of the state assembly elections, and that’s why despite stubble burning leading to deteriorating air quality not just in Punjab, but in neighbouring states also, the CM decided to cancel the FIRs against farmers.
More than 5,000 farm fires took place in the past three days, with the Sangrur district topping the list. However, on Wednesday, only 523 farm fires were reported, indicating that the stubble burning season is almost over.
Though the number of farm fires this year so far is less than that of last year, it has still crossed the 2019 figures. As per the data, Punjab had seen 76,590 farm fires in 2020 and 52,991 in 2019.
Stubble burning is banned but many farmers continue to flout it. Delhi and Haryana have taken several emergency measures including the closure of schools (in four districts in Haryana) and a ban on construction work to curb air pollution.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court Wednesday, the state enlisted its “sincere efforts” to discourage farmers from burning paddy stubble.
The measures, it added, however, require the Centre’s financial assistance for which the state has “solicited” the apex court’s “indulgence.” The “crucial aspects” that Punjab has flagged for the court’s intervention to reduce, prevent and prohibit burning of crop residue relate to diversification of crops and viability gap funding support of Rs 1,500 crore to set up 300 MW biomass power projects in the state.
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