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Punjab CM forms committee to resolve pending farmers’ issues
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann says the state government will push for one-time settlement OTS scheme on agri loans with cooperative banks
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday formed a committee to resolve farmers’ pending issues, including compensation and government jobs to the next of kin of those who died during the stir against the now-repealed farm laws.
The chief minister on Tuesday held a meeting with representatives of 32 farmer bodies from the state that are part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha. According to an official release, Mann said the panel will be headed by agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian with senior IAS officers and representatives of farmer unions and agriculture experts as its members.
The committee will finalise its report by March 31 to ensure that the farmers’ demands are fulfilled at the earliest.
Later, Khuddian said 326 families of farmers, who died during the year-long agitation against the now-repealed farm laws, have been given compensation and government jobs.
The meeting was informed that 40 more families are yet to get compensation and 200 are still to be provided jobs. Khuddian said these families will be given compensations and jobs by March 31.
Mann also assured the farmer leaders that his government will support them in their fight against the Centre for the legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP).
The chief minister reiterated that the state does not have a single drop of water to spare for other states, adding that he will attend a meeting convened by the Union water resources minister on December 28 over the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue.
Mann said he will firmly present Punjab’s case before the Centre, adding that he will convey in the meeting that the state has no spare water.
Mann said the state government will flag the issue of introducing a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme on farmers’ loans in cooperative banks with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
The CM also announced a special drive from January 1 to April 13 during which camps will be organised in villages for consensual division of land.
He assured the farmers that if growers do not have any dispute regarding the ownership of land, then the division will be done according to the possession of ownership.
Mann said the residents who want to get their division of land done by mutual consent will immensely benefit from it. He also announced lifting the ban on opening new accounts in cooperative societies in the villages.
The CM further announced to lifting ban on opening new accounts in the cooperative societies in the villages. He also announced that all pending compensation will be released to the farmers by the end of the current fiscal year. The chief minister assured free power from January 1 to the 242 lift pumps installed for providing water at the tail-end of the Sirhind feeder. The government is also mulling permitting farmers to tackle stray and wild animals that cause crop loss, he said.
