Madhya Pradesh becomes first state in country to implement new farms Act
Bhopal: While the farmers' protest is continuing in the various parts of the country, the Madhya Pradesh government has first implemented the new farms Act by settling pay dispute of the farmer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cited the example of a Maharashtra farmer who got the dues of his commodity from the trader of Badwani distrct of MP, in his monthly 'Man Ki Baat' radio address on Sunday.
The MP has become the first state government in the country that implemented the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, one of the three new laws which were passed by the Central government on September, 27 this year.
"A farmer, Jitendra Bhoi, resident of Maharashtra's Dhule district had filed a complaint accusing a trader of Badwani district was not fulfilling the payments of his corn crop which was sold in July this year," the collector of Badwani, Shivraj Singh Verma told the Millennium Post. "Taking action against the trader under section 17 of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, the remaining dues of Rs 3.11 lakh have been given to the farmer by the trader while Rs 25,000 was already paid," the collector also said.
Bhoi had sold 270.95 quintals of the maize crop at the rate of Rs 1240 per quintal to traders Subhash and Arun Vani of Khetia village in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district for Rs 3.36 lakh. The traders, who were not license holders under the APMC Act, had reneged on the payment, prompting Bhoi to seek redressal under the provisions of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance. The farmer from Maharashtra had written to the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Pansemal Sub-Division of Barwani district. Bhoi has become the first beneficiary of the Centre's agricultural reform laws as he managed to recover payments dues.
Earlier, there was no legal framework available to farmers if he sold his crop to traders outside an Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) limits, the new laws empowered the Sub-Divisional Magistrate to ensure payment to farmers within a fixed time limit. The new laws also empower the SDM to attach the properties of the trader to ensure that the farmer is paid the amounts due to him in a timely manner.
In 'Man Ki Bat' radio address, PM Modi cited the example of a farmer from Dhule in Maharashtra, Jitendra Bhoi whose payments for his corn crop was kept pending by traders for four months. "The agricultural reforms in the past few days have also now opened new doors of possibilities for our farmers. These reforms have not only served to unshackle our farmers but also given them new rights and opportunities," Modi said.
After hearing the versions of the farmer and the trader, the SDM issued orders to the traders to make the payment for the farm produce within seven days. The government's pitch for highlighting the finer points of the farm sector reforms come at a time when farmers' agitation has not shown any signs of abatement.
Finance minister Nrmala Sitaraman and Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar have hailed the Badwani's district administration for implementing first the new Agriculture reforms laws.
