The Government on Tuesday again reiterated that it is in the process of setting up a panel on farmers issues including Minimum Support Price (MSP). The committee will have representatives of the central Government, State Governments, farmers, agricultural scientists, and agricultural economists.
"As per the changing requirements of the country to change the cropping pattern, to make MSP more effective and transparent, and to encourage natural farming methods of agriculture, setting up a committee is under process," Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
On February 4, Tomar had said in the Rajya Sabha that the matter of forming the committee on MSP is under consideration of the Ministry and will be formed after the assembly elections in five states namely Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab.
Sources in the Government said that they are working on the terms and reference for the Committee on farmers’ issues. On the other hand, farmers unions and their leaders have accused the Government for not announcing the committee on MSP and other demands after the elections is over in five states.
The farmers’ body will observe a MSP legal guarantee week from April 11 to April 17 during which unions will organise dharnas, demonstrations and seminars. “There is no trace of the assurance of forming a committee on MSP.
Except Haryana, the police cases registered against the farmers during the agitation in other states have not been withdrawn. Delhi Police has spoken of partial withdrawal of some cases, but there is no concrete information about that as well. Nothing has happened about the cases registered during rail roko agitations across the country,” the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has stated in a statement on March 15.
While announcing the repeal of three farm laws in November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to set up a committee to make MSP system more effective and transparent as well as suggest ways to promote zero budgeting based-agriculture.
The Supreme Court appointed three members panel on farm legislations in its report has found that nearly 86% of farmers supported the now-repealed three central farm laws that were at the centre of year-long protest by various farmer outfits.