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Farmers meet SC panel, seek law guaranteeing MSP on all crops
The farmers’ delegation told the committee that the proposed law will protect farmers by bringing in punitive provisions for payments lesser than the MSP
A committee constituted by the Supreme Court to suggest course correction in the agrarian sector on Friday met different farmers unions, who demanded a central law offering guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) on all crops as the solution for the distress.
The farmers’ delegation, led by farm leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, told the committee, led by retired high court judge Justice Nawab Singh, that the proposed law will protect farmers by bringing in punitive provisions for payments lesser than the MSP.
According to Khushal Singh, a farmer from Gurdaspur, the crop payment across Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Amritsar, particularly in the paddy season, was 20% lower than the MSP of ₹2,369 per quintal. He added that the system of measuring moisture in the grains was also anti-farmer because it lacked transparency.
On being questioned by Justice Singh on why farmers do not complain, Khushal replied that the entire state machinery was a mess and the farmer was at the receiving end in the pressure to sell the crop and prepare for the upcoming season.
The committee was constituted by the apex court on January 6 last year after farmer bodies led by Dallewal under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Union (non-political) held over a year-long protest at Shambu and Khanouri borders in Punjab along Haryana and were forcibly evicted on March 19 last year.
In the Friday meeting held in Panchkula, Punjab Farmers’ Commission chairman Sukhpal Singh, economist Ranjit Singh Ghuman and farm policy analyst Devinder Sharma were also present.
Farm leaders from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana were also in attendance. They narrated the scenario of their states, where they said things were even worse.
Farmers from Uttar Pradesh said middlemen ruled the roost as they bought produce from the farmers at very cheap prices and sold to government procurement agencies at MSP. “Farmers hardly get any price for the crops. There is no truth in the fact that the government purchases every single grain, the story is murky,” said Dallewal.
Satnam Singh Behru, a farm leader from Patiala, questioned the system of fixing MSP every year, stating that the system of calculating produce price was faulty. “The input cost is rising and yield is falling, but MSP is not calculated in the same proportion,” he said.
After the meeting, Dallewal said there was no assurance from the apex court committee for recommending a law guaranteeing MSP on all crops, but the committee members were positive towards the suggestions made by the farm leaders. “We met the committee members so that we are not blamed at a later stage for not participating in dialogue,” he added.
