Farmers Movement Archive

Maharashtra may bring its own farm legislation; officials to study laws of 3 states

The state is considering to enact its own legislation to “safeguard the interest” of the farmers “concerned” over the laws brought by the Centre. The group of ministers formed to deliberate the clauses of the Centre’s laws have asked state officials to study the legislations enacted by Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh recently and submit a framework of its own law.Headed by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the 10-member cabinet sub-committee was constituted to look into concerns and questions raised by various farmer groups against the three farm legislations that have witnessed protests after many political parties and farmers’ organisations have opposed their implementation. Farmers have claimed that they are concerned that the central laws would deprive them of the minimum support price (MSP).To negate the impact of the Centre’s laws, the three Congress states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have recently passed their own laws. “Following the three laws brought by the Centre, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have passed their own laws. The committee today directed the officials to study their laws, identify their pros and cons, see what is there in the existing laws of Maharashtra and submit their detailed report to us,” said food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is also a member of the cabinet sub-committee.He said the state can bring a separate law but a decision can be taken only after getting a report from the officials.State agriculture department, marketing department and food and civil supplies department will study the laws of other states, officials said.Another member of the sub-committee, state public works department (PWD) minister Ashok Chavan, in his letter to Pawar said the process to bring amended laws on the lines of Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh must start. “Punjab has restricted the limit for storing agriculture produce to ensure a curb on illegal hoarding. It has ensured MSP for agriculture produce and also allowed farmers to approach civil court against cheating. Rajasthan has made a provision of seven-year imprisonment along with a fine of ₹5 lakh against cheating, while Chhattisgarh has made several changes in its agricultural produce market committee (APMC) to facilitate electronic trading platform for transparent auction and online payments for the farmers,” stated the letter.Officials, in the meeting, suggested that the Centre has proposed several amendments in the laws and thus, the state should wait for the results of the negotiations to ascertain its next step. “The Centre has proposed three major changes and assured to provide powers to the states for making legislations: levying market fee for transactions outside market yard; ascertaining eligibility criteria of the buyer, as earlier anyone having a pan card was allowed to buy the produce; and allowing farmers to approach civil court against disputes. Thus, we suggested that let there be a vital decision on this first, so that we can get a clear idea on which way our legislation has to head. In case if we initiate the legislation which is not conducive to the Union laws, then there is a possibility that the Presidential assent will not be given,” said a senior official. “We have also brought to their notice that Punjab and Rajasthan laws talk only about wheat and paddy, while the Chhattisgarh laws talk only about paddy. In the case of Maharashtra, the scenario is totally different. We have major crops which are not food crops which are linked with international markets, such as cotton and soya bean. Also, a large number of our farmers are involved in growing vegetables and perishable fruits, which are not covered under MSP. Hence, our requirement and ecosystem is different from other states,” said another official. Anoop Kumar, principal secretary, state marketing department, said, “We are going to take up the exercise and will also study the consequences of the ongoing negotiations between the Centre and farmers organisations so that we can submit our recommendations to the empowered group of ministers.”All the three ruling parties in Maharashtra — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — have supported the farmers’ demand to repeal the laws. It has also stayed its notification (issued on August 10) for the implementation of the three farm laws.

Hindustan Times

18-12-2020

City