Farmers Movement Archive

Panel report on farm laws be made public: Ghanavat

Nagpur: The Supreme Court-appointed committee on three contentious farm laws, which have led to ongoing protests in Delhi for months together, wants its recommendations in the report, submitted to the apex court on March 19, be made public at the earliest. “The report has remained a sealed document for nearly five months after it was submitted by the three-member committee,” said Anil Ghanavat, president of Shetkari Sanghatana and one of the members. The next hearing in which the report was to be presented was expected to be held soon after the submission, he added. The committee members are concerned over the delay, said Ghanavat. “The committee was supposed to submit its report within two months of the first sitting. The job was done one day before the deadline,” he said. The court direction on the committee speaks of the matter to be listed after eight weeks. The scheduled hearing coincided with the deadline for the committee to submit the report, said Ghanavat. Recommendations of the committee can only be made public when the next hearing is held in the public interest litigation (PIL) which challenged the laws. Ideally, the hearing should also have been held within two months, he said. “The report will be presented before the court in next hearing, which has been not held so far,” said Ghanavat. The entire purpose for forming the committee can fail due to the delay, he added. The delay may also give chance to state governments to enact their own laws on these lines. This may further lead to litigations form the states’ side, said the farmers leader. Maharashtra has already introduced three new bills to counter the Centre’s farm laws. The contents of the report can only be revealed before the court, said Ghanavat. The committee had talked to representatives of various farm organizations to get their views on the central laws. Implementation of the three laws has also been stayed after the PIL was filed. Other members of the committee include Pramod Kumar Joshi, director of South Asia International Food Policy Research Institute and Ashok Gulati, former chairman of committee on agriculture costs and practices. In a nutshell * A PIL has challenged constitutional validity of the three farm laws against which protests are being held * Supreme Court appointed 3-member panel to submit report, after getting views of farmers’ organizations * Committee was asked to submit report in two months of its formation * Report was submitted to the apex court on March 19, a day before the deadline * Recommendations were to be revealed in next hearing, which has been delayed, says Ghanavat

The Times of India

2021-07-24

Nagpur