Red pen entry to be made in revenue record of farmers burning wheat straw/stubble

Ludhiana: Deputy Commissioner Mr Pradeep Kumar Agrawal has informed that as per the directions received from Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), red pen entries would be made in the revenue record of farmers who burn wheat straw/stubble. He informed that one entry has already been made in the revenue record of one such farmer. He said that in 45 different cases, a fine of Rs 1.55 lakh has been imposed to the farmers who have burnt wheat straw.
He informed that the PPCB has already adopted a strict approach this time and any farmer burning wheat straw, a red pen entry would be made in the Revenue Girdawri Record of such farmer. He said that directions in this regard have already been issued to all the concerned patwaris. He said that it would be mentioned in the record that the farmer has burnt “wheat straw” so that it remains a permanent record for future reference too. He said that such farmers would not be able to avail government benefits in future.
PPCB Superintending Engineer Mr Sandeep Behal informed that till May 16, 2020, a total of 178 cases of burning of wheat straw have been reported in district Ludhiana, and the sub divisional teams were immediately rushed to the spot for checking. He said that out of these cases, 60 were those where the teams did not find that wheat straw was not burnt and in 10 other cases, the cause of fire was something else. He said that an FIR under section 188 of IPC has been registered against one such farmer.
Mr Agrawal urged the farmers of the district to act responsibly and not indulge in burning of wheat straw in larger interest of the people. He said that burning of wheat straw reduces the soil fertility, besides it also pollutes our environment. In view of COVID 19 pandemic, burning of wheat straw can cause diseases such as problem in breathing, lungs etc, due to which people can fall prey to COVID 19.
He informed that several officials have been deputed to check this menace and also appealed to the residents that if they get to know about any such incident, they should bring it to the notice of concerned officials so that action be taken against the culprits.