Capt Amarinder Singh convenes all-party meet on June 24 on central ordinances on farming sector
Says Punjab’s farmers had been pivotal to India’s food security and their interests could not be allowed to be compromised at any cost
cityairnews
Jun 21, 2020 09:01
0
Chandigarh: Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has convened an all-party meeting on June 24 to evolve a consensus on the Central Government’s Agriculture related ordinances, which he said were totally unacceptable to the state as they were against the interests of the farmers and could spell the end of the MSP regime.
Describing the ordinances as a precursor to the end of the MSP regime, which the Government of India was clearly aiming to do, the Chief Minister said that based on the meeting consensus, a letter would be sent to the Government of India demanding immediate roll-back of the Ordinances.
Disclosing this at the 7th edition of his #AskCaptain Facebook Live programme, the Chief Minister called for an urgent review of the anti-farmer Ordinances issued by the Central Government. He expressed the confidence that all parties of Punjab were one in the rejection of these Ordinances, which could not only pave the way for ending the MSP support to farmers but also render the Mandi Boards ineffective. The chief minister said that the union government’s move to end the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) monopoly through an ordinance, will result in huge losses to the Mandi Board, which currently earns Rs 3500 to 3,600 crores annually in the form of market fee and rural development fund (RDF). He said any decline in these collections would adversely effect development in rural areas as this money is spent by the board for improvement of roads, link roads and other infrastructure projects, aimed at improving the lives of Punjab’s farmers.
Punjab’s farmers had been pivotal to India’s food security and their interests could not be allowed to be compromised at any cost, he asserted.
It may be recalled that Captain Amarinder had, earlier this week, written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking reconsideration of the three Ordinances – for permitting trade in agricultural produce outside the physical boundaries of the set-up of the agricultural market under APMC Act, easing of restrictions under the Essential Commodities Act, and facilitating Contract Farming.
