Bathinda: The number of crop residue burning incidents continued to rise in both Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday, with the two states recording their highest single-day counts in the ongoing wheat harvesting season. Punjab reported 447 new farm fire cases, while Haryana recorded 376 incidents. These figures pushed the total count past the 1,000 mark in Punjab and beyond the 1,300 mark in Haryana.
Penal Actions Initiated
With the surge in farm fire cases, the administration has started penal actions against violators. Authorities have registered First Information Reports (FIRs) and made red entries in land records, besides imposing environmental compensation on erring farmers.
Madhya Pradesh Tops the List
Madhya Pradesh continued to lead in crop residue burning cases, recording 1,060 incidents on Wednesday, taking the total count past 31,500. Uttar Pradesh registered 229 fresh incidents. The total farm fire cases reported so far this season reached 47,056, with Madhya Pradesh contributing over 67%, or 31,546 incidents.
Five-Year Data from CREAMS
According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS), Madhya Pradesh has reported over 51% of the crop residue burning cases in the last five years. Out of the total 2,45,595 cases reported from 2022 to April 29, 2026, Madhya Pradesh accounted for 1,26,232 incidents, followed by Uttar Pradesh (59,078), Punjab (49,053), Haryana (11,096), and Delhi (136).
District-Wise Breakdown
A maximum of 3,870 burning cases have been reported from the Videsha district of Madhya Pradesh. Sixty-nine districts across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab have reported over 100 burning cases each until April 29.
Comparison with Previous Season
Earlier, during the paddy harvesting in the 2025 kharif season, Madhya Pradesh topped the stubble burning chart with 17,067 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (7,290) and Punjab (5,114).
Crop Residue Burning Cases Till April 29
- Madhya Pradesh: 31,546
- Uttar Pradesh: 13,087
- Haryana: 1,327
- Punjab: 1,076
- Delhi: 20
- Total: 47,056
FIRs Registered in Punjab
In Punjab, 13 FIRs were registered against violators by Tuesday evening. Six FIRs were lodged in Kapurthala, four in Jalandhar, two in Bathinda, and one in Barnala district. Nineteen red entries have also been made in land records. The FIRs have been filed under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant). Additionally, Rs 1.35 lakh in environmental compensation has been imposed in 24 cases. In total, 629 farm fire cases were reported by Tuesday evening in Punjab, with 22 of the 23 districts, except Roopnagar, reporting one or more stubble burning incidents.
