86% farmers' unions supported three farm laws: SC-appointed panel reveals
A panel of experts constituted by the Supreme Court of India to study the three now-repealed farm acts claimed most of the farmers' organisations it interacted with backed the Centre government's laws.
As per the SC-appointed body, 86 percent of organisations representing more than 3 crore farmers supported the laws that the government of India repealed last year after months-long protests.
As Anil Ghanwat, a farmer leader and committee member released the report, he stated that while the observations of the committee hold little significance on the laws as they have already been repealed, it is significant for policymakers and farmers in general.
The high powered panel further advocated retaining the three laws and suggested that states may be given flexibility in implementing and designing them with the government’s approval.
It said that scrapping or suspending the controversial agricultural laws would be "unfair" to the silent majority who backed them.
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In January 2020, the Supreme Court established the panel while deferring the implementation of the three laws. Agriculture economist Ashok Gulati, Shetkari Sanghatana (Maharashtra) president Anil Ghanwat, Pramod Kumar Joshi of the International Food Policy Research Institute, and Bhupinder Singh Mann, president of a faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, were the first four members.
Mann eventually stepped down from the panel.
According to the panel's report, stakeholders may be given alternative dispute resolution mechanisms through civil courts or arbitration mechanisms such as farmer courts. The report of the panel is likely to be available soon.
The panel advocated employing cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to strengthen agricultural infrastructure, as well as forming an agriculture marketing council with all states and UTs as members to implement the acts.
The committee approached 266 farm organisations, including some who were protesting, according to the report. In addition, the committee received 1,520 emails and 19,027 responses via the dedicated portal. The report was submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope on March 19, 2021. Ghanwat had written to the Chief Justice three times, as well as Prime Minister Modi, requesting that the report be made public.
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-PTC News
