Ministers hold talks with BKU leaders, promise time-bound action on demands

After the meeting, Cheema stated that the dialogue had taken place in a cordial atmosphere and resulted in a strong consensus on several crucial matters

A three-member group of ministers of the Punjab government on Tuesday held discussion with representatives of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) led by Joginder Singh Ugrahan and assured them of time-bound resolution of farmers’ issues related to FIRs registered against farmers during past agitations and a dedicated budget allocation to cover crop damage.

The GoM comprised cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, and Gurmeet Singh Khudian. (HT)

The GoM comprised cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, and Gurmeet Singh Khudian. After the meeting, Cheema stated that the dialogue had taken place in a cordial atmosphere and resulted in a strong consensus on several crucial matters. During the discussions on the union’s demands, mutually agreeable timeframes of one to two months were established to ensure the systematic and timely resolution of the accepted local issues, he said.

Addressing the specific demand concerning pending FIRs registered against farmers during past agitations, Cheema stated that a significant number of these cases had already been cancelled by the state. “For the approximately 13 to 16 cases currently pending in various courts, the government has devised a strategic, stage-wise legal framework to facilitate their prompt withdrawal,” he said. Responding to the union’s demand for a dedicated budget allocation to cover crop damage, the minister said that the state government had already earmarked ₹750 crore for compensation and that the disbursal process for affected farmers was underway. The discussions also focused extensively on compensation for tenant farmers. Furthermore, a highly sympathetic view was taken regarding the longstanding issue of cultivators who have been tilling land for several decades without formal ownership rights. Cheema assured the union that all major agrarian issues pending with the central government would be debated robustly in the upcoming session of the state assembly.