CHANDIGARH: Punjab Government has already cancelled 25 FIRs filed against farmers in the state, said Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, while assuring the Farmer Unions’ leaders that some more FIRs are also under process.
S. Gurmeet Singh Khudian, along with Chief Secretary Mr. Anurag Verma, Special DGP Law & Order Arpit Shukla and other senior state government officials, held detailed discussions with BKU (Ugrahan) and Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union leaders at Punjab Bhawan here on Wednesday. The meeting was aimed to gather their suggestions and concerns regarding the policy.
BKU (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan led a delegation that included Jora Singh Nasrali, Lachman Sewewala, Jhanda Singh Jethuke and Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan attended the meeting. They lauded the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government for drafting a comprehensive Punjab Agriculture Policy aimed at addressing longstanding agrarian issues. The delegation praised the innovative measures proposed in the policy, which include promoting crop diversification, providing a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP), offering one-time debt settlements for farmers, introducing a pension plan for small farmers and farm workers, implementing special debt waivers for small and marginal farmers, among other initiatives.
The Agriculture Minister assured the farmer leaders that their suggestions regarding the Agriculture Policy have been acknowledged and will be considered carefully. He stated that after consulting with the concerned departments, the policy will be finalised soon.
While urging the concerned officials to promptly address the attendance issue of MGNREGA workers, the minister also directed the concerned officials to finalise the modalities for introducing a One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for farmers who are struggling to repay loans to cooperative banks.
Secretary Finance Diprava Lakra, Agriculture Commissioner Ms. Neelima, Chairman Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission Dr. Sukhpal Singh, AIG Intelligence Sandeep Garg, Director Agriculture Jaswant Singh and other senior officials were present in the meeting.