NEW DELHI, Mar 31: The panel of experts appointed by the Supreme Court to study the three contentious agricultural acts repeal for which the farmers are agitating for the last five months, has submitted its report to the apex court.
The report has been submitted in a sealed cover and its contents would be disclosed only by the Supreme Court, probably at its next hearing of the case challenging the three farm laws.
Farmers, particularly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are squatting on the borders of Delhi since November 26 demanding repeal of the three laws which they felt would provide advantage to the corporate sector and the actual tillers would slowly become land labourers. But the Narendra Modi government totally disagrees and claims that the new farm laws would help double the income of the farmers in the next couple of years. The Supreme Court, however, had stayed the implementation of the acts pending he committee’s report.
The apex court had appointed four members in the committee but one of the members Bhartiya Kisan Union President Bhupinder Singh Mann had recused himself even before the committee began its works.
The Supreme Court had on January 11 appointed the committee and gave it two months to study the laws and consult all stakeholders.
“We submitted the report on March 19 in a sealed cover. Now, the court will decide the future course of action,” one of the members of the committee said.
As per the committee’s official website, the panel held total 12 rounds of consultations with various stakeholders, including farmers groups, farmer producers organisations (FPOs) procurement agencies, professionals, academicians, private as well as state agriculture marketing boards.
Apart from P K Mishra, Shetkari Sanghatana President Anil Ghanwat and agri-economist and former Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Ashok Gulati are other members of the panel.
Asked about the stakeholders consulted by the committee and their views on the laws, the member said, “Our role is over now. We are not authorised to say anything about it before it is made public.”
The three laws which were passed by Parliament in September and are being opposed by farmers’ unions are The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.
(Manas Dasgupta)