NEW DELHI, Jan 17: The Supreme Court-appointed committee on the three new farm laws is scheduled to hold its first meeting on January 19 at Pusa campus here, one of its members Anil Ghanwat said today.
The Supreme Court had on January 11 stayed the implementation of the three laws, against which farmers are protesting at Delhi borders for over 50 days now, till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.
Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann, however, recused from the committee last week.
Apart from Ghanwat, agri-economists Ashok Gulati and Pramod Kumar Joshi are the two other panel members.
“We are meeting on January 19 at the Pusa campus. Only members will meet to decide the future course of action,” Ghanwat, President of Shetkari Sanghatana (Maharashtra), said.
One of the four members has backed out of the committee. If the Apex Court does not appoint a new member, the existing members will continue, he said.
The committee has received the terms of reference and will begin the work from January 21 onwards, he added.
Asked about the Government holding parallel talks with protesting farmer unions after the setting up of the SC panel, he said, “We have no issue if a solution is found and the protests end from either (efforts of) our panel or from the Government’s separate talks with the protesting farmer unions.”
“Let (Government) them continue the discussion, we have been given a duty and we will focus on that,” he added.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the pleas relating to the controversial farm laws and the ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders. It may take into account the matter of recusal of the member from the panel.
The top court would also hear the plea of the central government, filed though the Delhi Police, seeking an injunction against a proposed tractor march or any other kind of protest by farmers that may disrupt the Republic Day celebrations on January 26.
So far, the Government has held nine rounds of formal talks with 41 farmer unions but has failed to break the logjam as the latter have stuck to their main demand of a complete repeal of the three Acts.
In the last meeting, the Centre had suggested that the unions constitute their own informal group to prepare a concrete proposal on the three farm laws for further discussion at their next meeting on January 19 to end the long-running protest at various Delhi borders.
A bench, also comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Vineet Saran, may take into account the issue of recusal of Mann from the committee and take remedial actions like appointing a person to replace him in the panel.
On Saturday, farmer union, Bhartiya Kisan Union Lokshakti, filed an affidavit requesting the top court to remove the remaining three members of the committee and select people who can do the job “on the basis of mutual harmony”.
The farmers’ body said the principle of natural justice is going to be violated as those appointed to the four-member committee “have already supported these laws”.
It has also sought dismissal of a plea of the central government, filed though the Delhi Police, seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor march on January 26.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three laws — 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.
Enacted in September 2020, the government has presented these laws as major farm reforms aimed at increasing farmers’ income, but the protesting farmers have raised concerns that these legislations would weaken the minimum support price (MSP) and “mandi” (wholesale market) systems and leave them at the mercy of big corporations.
The Government has maintained that these apprehensions are misplaced and has ruled out a repeal of the laws. (PTI)
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