Punjab Cabinet okays 'kurki' abolition

The Punjab cabinet on Tuesday gave its formal nod to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's promise to scrap 'kurki', a practice under which mortagaged land is auctioned to recover loans.

The cabinet decision comes in the backdrop of the Chief Minister's assertions about his commitment to rescue the state's beleaguered farmers from the burden of debt by waiving off their loans and putting an end to 'kurki'.

The council of ministers, which met here under the chairmanship of Singh, approved the proposal to abolish section 67-A of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act 1961, which provides for 'kurki' to recover loans as arrears of land revenue, an official spokesman said.

In another move to reform the agriculture sector, the cabinet also okayed the super-session of the existing nominated Market Committees.

As per the cabinet decision, Section 12 of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1961, will be amended to appoint administrators, who shall perform the official duties and exercise powers of the Market Committees for a period of one year or till the nomination of Market Committees.

The meeting also decided to rename the Department of Agriculture as Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.