'Not in favour of FIRs against farmers over stubble burning': Punjab CM Mann

Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated that he does not 'favour' FIRs being filed against farmers for stubble burning, and emphasised that paddy growers should receive a cash incentive for not setting their crop residue on fire.

Mann made these remarks on Friday just days before the paddy harvesting season in Punjab begins.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana is often blamed for increased air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region. Due to the short window for the Rabi crop (wheat) after the paddy harvest in October and November, many farmers burn their fields to quickly clear the crop residue.


Paddy growers have been demanding a Rs 3,000 cash incentive per acre for managing paddy stubble.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the two-day Kisan Mela of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here on Friday, Mann lamented that Punjab farmers are always blamed for spreading air pollution in Delhi by burning paddy straw.

"The Centre says Punjab has contributed 180 lakh metric tonnes of paddy to the central pool. But they (Centre) do not consider how much of that stubble comes from the 180 lakh MT. They (Centre) suggest registering FIRs," Mann said.

He mentioned that he has conveyed to the Centre that farmers do not wish to burn paddy stubble, as the smoke affects them directly.

Mann reiterated that he has informed the Centre that farmers should be given financial incentives for managing their paddy stubble.

Furthermore, he mentioned that Maryam Nawaz, Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab, had said that she would write to him regarding smoke affecting Lahore.

"Is it only our smoke in the air? Do the emissions from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh not contribute? They are merely trying to defame Punjab," he asked, expressing displeasure with the blame directed toward Punjab for air pollution.

"Parcha purcha tan dil nahin karda yaar, ein andante te parcha kiven kar daange, par lor hi na pave us hisab naal kar liyo. (I do not feel like registering FIRs against farmers. How can FIRs be filed against them?)," he asked.

Farmer leaders in Punjab linked Mann's recent statements on stubble burning to the upcoming assembly elections.

Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan urged the government to first cancel any FIRs already registered against farmers for stubble burning.

Kokrikalan suggested that Mann's comments were politically motivated given the approaching assembly elections. He called on the government to withdraw existing FIRs against farmers.

BKU (Lakhowal) leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal echoed the sentiment that the government should provide cash incentives to farmers for managing stubble burning.

Every year, FIRs are filed against farmers who engage in stubble burning under Section 223 (disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Those found guilty face fines as environmental compensation, and a "red entry" is noted in revenue records, which can prevent farmers from obtaining loans or selling their farmland.

Punjab saw an 86 per cent reduction in stubble fire incidents from 2023 to 2025, with incidents dropping from 36,663 in 2023 to 10,909 in 2024 and further to 5,114 in 2025.

The state recorded 49,922 farm fire events in 2022, 71,304 in 2021, 76,590 in 2020, 55,210 in 2019 and 50,590 in 2018, with many districts, including Sangrur, Mansa, Bathinda and Amritsar, witnessing a large number of stubble burning incidents.

The state government runs awareness campaigns at the village and block levels to educate farmers about the dangers of burning paddy straw.

Besides, crop residue management machinery like super seeder, smart seeder, happy seeder, paddy straw chopper, shredder, mulcher, hydraulic reversible mould board plough and zero till drill under the in-situ (mixing crop residue in fields) management method and baler and rake under the ex-situ (using stubble as fuel) management method are made available on subsidy.

The subsidy is 50 per cent of the cost of equipment for individual farmers and 80 per cent for cooperative societies and panchayats.