Jalandhar, Nov. 14 -- Of the total 4,734 farm fire incidents reported this season in Punjab, almost 56% have been reported between November 1 and 13, according to the official data released by the Punjab Pollution Control Board on Thursday. Between November 1 and 13, Punjab reported 2,650 cases of stubble burning, even though 82% of the 31.72 lakh hectares under paddy cultivation had been harvested by October 31, PPCB's daily action taken report reveals. This comes a day after the Supreme Court, taking note of stubble burning leading to further worsening of air quality levels in Delhi-NCR, asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to apprise it about the action taken to control the situation. A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria will now hear the case on November 17. "Let Punjab and Haryana governments respond on the steps taken to control stubble burning," the CJI said. From September 16, when the PPCB starts recording farm fires, till October 31, the state had logged 2,084 cases. On Wednesday, the apex court ordered both Punjab and Haryana to submit their respective responses within a week regarding the steps taken to curb stubble burning in their states. "We were expecting harvesting to conclude by the first week of November, as the procurement was advanced by 15 days this season. However, due to the unfavourable weather conditions, the harvesting got prolonged, thus resulting in an increase in stubble burning cases due to a shorter available window for the farmers to prepare fields for the wheat crop," said a senior PPCB official, pleading anonymity. He added that it's surprising that more than 50% of cases have been reported in the last 12 days. The official added that till October 31, nearly 82.15% of paddy harvesting had been completed. "From November 1 onwards, 2,650 cases of stubble burning were reported at the fag end of the harvesting season," added an official. Stubble burning usually peaks in October, when farmers are clearing their fields of paddy stubble post-harvest to prepare them for the next crop, and lasts for around three weeks to a month. The resultant smoke is often blamed for poor air quality in and around the Delhi-NCR region. On Wednesday, the national capital recorded 'severe' air quality for the second consecutive day, with smoke rising from stubble fires in Punjab and Haryana making up nearly a quarter of the city's PM2.5 load - the highest share this season. Data from the Centre's Decision Support System (DSS) showed that stubble burning contributed 22.47% to Delhi's PM2.5 on Wednesday, up from 15.45% on Tuesday and 13.68% on Monday. Punjab, in an effort to curtail farm fires, allowed early sowing of paddy crop and also advanced paddy procurement by 15 days. The Punjab government has tried to clamp down on stubble burning and has also resorted to stringent and punitive measures in the past 13 days. Of the total 1,654 FIRs registered this season, as many as 1,100 cases were registered against the farmers from November 1 to 13 under section 223 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the BNS. Likewise, 1,436 red entries in the revenue records of the farmers were made during this period of time, taking the total to 1,991. Meanwhile, the PPCB had slapped environment compensation of Rs.1.06 crore in 2,038 cases this season so far, of which Rs.65.5 lakh was imposed in November alone. "Besides presenting the total number of cases, the state government will brief the Supreme Court about the action taken report, including measures adopted to curb cases this season," an official said. Punjab has reported a drop of 57% in crop residue burning cases this year so far compared to last year, when it recorded 10,909 cases. In the past five years, the stubble-burning cases have reduced by 93% as the state reported 71,000 cases in 2020....