Articles
Farm Laws – No Consultation?
Dt:21/12/20
Farm Laws – No Consultation?
Dr T H Chowdary*
A G. Noorani’s article , “ Farm Bills, Govt Needs To Consult Up And Cultivators” written for DAWN, the Muslim League’s English daily in Pakistan is reproduced in the Deccan Chronicle of Hyderabad in the edit page of 14/12/20. Sri Noorani is a columnist for the Muslim League’s daily DAWN in Pakistan. He writes for Pakistani readers . The Deccan Chronicle is in some way solicitous of this columnist of DAWN of Pakistan. Sri Noorani is very well known for his visceral antipathy to anything that bodes well to Hindustan / India. In the article under reference there are his pompous platitudes about democracy, consultation with opposition parties and farmers and so on. Why he has to write for a farmer’s issue in India in a Pakistani daily speaks volumes of his Pakisaniat DNA propounded by Dr B R Ambedkar in his famous book, Pakistan or India Divided .
2. Now let us see what is the truth or falsehood in Sri Noorani’s piece on India’s farm bills. His assertion that there has not been consultation with opposition parties and even parliament and cultivators, is a total lie. Here are the facts of two decades long consultation with the public as well as with Members of Parliament and the NDA and the UPA governments .
· The NDA government appointed an expert committee in Dec 2000 under the chairmanship of Shankarlal Guru to review and recommend measures to make agriculture marketing system more efficient and competitive. The Report of the expert committee to strengthen and development of agriculture marketing 2001 said, “ the institution of regulated market has however achieved a limited success. Over a period of time , these markets have however acquired the status of restrictive and regulated markets providing no help in direct free marketing.
· The UPA government followed up with the States to adopt the model 2004 APMC law and even framed new rules and regulations in 2007 .
· A National Commission on Agriculture chaired by noted and respected scientist M. S Swaminathan submitted its report in 2006. He recommended promotion of unified national market .
· In March 2010, Sri Sarad Pawar, Agriculture Minister in the UPA government constituted an Empowered Committee under the Chairmanship of the Agriculture Minister of the Government of Maharashtra and 10 State Ministers of Agriculture as members. The Committee submitted its report in 2013; suggested simplification of procedures of contract farming barriers free national markets, waiving off of market fee on fruits and vegetable ….Its recommendations included removing of the existing physical legal and statutory barriers for the marketing of agricultural produce. It recommended a Central Legislation to deal with inter-state agricultural marketing, promoting of agri-business, trade and commerce at the national level .
· The NDA govt in 2014 constituted the Dalwai Committee to formulate a model Act with members from the states of Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan, Telangana and UP . The Committee after extensive consultation recommended adoption of the Model APLM Act 2017 in April 2017. The TMC govt of w West Bengal adopted this model Act in 2017. So did the Congress government in Punjab and governments in UP, Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana
· To protect the interest of the farmers in contract farming, a second Dalwai Committee was set up which had representation from the states of Punjab, Maharashtra, Odisha , Karnataka and MP .
3. It is in the light of the Public Consultation, Expert Committees’ reports procured by the NDA and UPA governments, the present three farm laws were enacted. In the light of this fact of two decade-long consultation at different levels under the auspices of different party governments at the Center and in the States, these laws are made and promulgated. All these facts have been obviously purposely not mentioned by Sri A G Noorani, the columnist for a Pakistani daily and reproduced by an Indian daily, the Deccan Chronicle. The author and the newspaper that entertained this article indicate what they stand for - anything that can promote ill will to nationalist parties like the BJP in the country. (674 words)
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