Agriculture Ministry officials say a deadline was not reached to amend the stubble burning ordinance.
Despite reaching an agreement to exempt farmers from criminal stubble-burning provisions under an air quality ordinance in the capital, the Center does not plan to take action until all other problems with the crops are resolved. groups of farmers protesting. When asked about the timeline for amending the ordinance, agriculture ministry officials noted that an agreement was only reached “in principle” during negotiations on Wednesday with protesting peasant leaders.
“Since the talks are still going on, once everything is finalized, the timeline, etcetera, can come up for discussion. It was a decision of principle that two of their demands were acceptable to the government, ”said a senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture. The Hindu. “The modalities and the schedule will be according to the final agreement. Once everything is finalized, only then will we do it. “
Farmers protest | Young farmers break police barricades in Shahjahanpur
Minor issues
Peasant leaders said the government’s action on the agreements already made would help build confidence for the upcoming talks. However, they also emphasized that these are minor issues compared to unresolved demands to repeal three contentious land reform laws and provide a legal guarantee for the MSP.
“There was only a verbal commitment from the government. No written agreement was given to us. But they can easily act on parali [stubble burning] issue and order the Pollution Board to make changes to exempt farmers. Let them do it, ”said Yudhvir Singh, general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan-Tikait Union, who was in the farmers’ delegation at the talks.
“What they did, let them do it,” said Hannan Mollah, All India Secretary General Kisan Sabha, who was also a member of the farmers’ delegation. “But this is only a peripheral problem. Our greatest demand is the repeal of the three laws. So in reality, there is only 1% progress, 99% deadlock after the talks yesterday. Not 50% progress like [Agriculture Minister] claimed “.
Data | Farmers, New Farm Laws, and Public Procurement
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a general front representing all protest groups, said that no concrete solutions had been reached on the main problems. “However, the guarantee of the withdrawal of two ordinances is a great victory, since this decision protects the federal structure of the country and prevents privatization,” he said in a statement Thursday. In addition to decriminalizing stubble burning, an agreement was also reached on changes to protect energy subsidies in an electricity bill.
Reply on Sunday
La Morcha will hold an internal consultation on Saturday to discuss a response to the government’s request for “alternatives to repeal,” but most agricultural leaders insisted there were no alternatives on the table. “We all agree that we want the complete repeal,” Singh said. They will send a written response to the Center on Sunday, before the next round of talks on Monday.
Earlier in the day, some 100 young farmers in 25 tractor cars broke through police barricades on the Rajasthan-Haryana border in Shahjahanpur. The Haryana police opposed them using water cannons and tear gas, and detained them later on on the Jaipur-Delhi highway in Rewari. All the leaders of the Indian Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee say they called on young people not to break through the barricades, but also condemned the police action.
.
