Bijendra Ahlawat

Palwal, May 4

The harvesting of wheat is coming to an end, but the threat of poor air quality persists due to stubble burning. Eight such incidents have been reported in Palwal district between April 1 and May 3 and a fine of Rs 20,000 has been imposed on offenders.

The Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), a nodal agency of the Citizen Resources Information Department for remote sensing and geographic information system applications, registered 31 incidents of stubble burning in the district since April 1, but 23 turned out to be false.

It is claimed that information about these incidents may be wrong as a stubble-burning incident is officially recorded after physical verification by officials of the Agriculture Department.

These incidents have been reported at Udaipur Banguri, Behrola, Aurangabad, Kodla (Banchari), Dakora, Bhiduki, Khambi and Solra villages where the offenders were fined Rs 2,500 each. This year, the first incident was reported on April16 at Udaypur Banguri village, while the last one was reported at Solra village on April 29.

According to the details available on 'Sameer', official app of the Central Pollution Control Board, the number of stubble-burning incidents this year has been almost the same as compare to the corresponding period of 2023. However, the air quality in the region, including Palwal, has deteriorated in comparison to the last year.

A senior official of the Agriculture Department said people violating the rules are being penalised.