Chandigarh, August 2-
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday accepted most of the genuine demands of the farmers unions after which they agreed to call off their proposed agitation on August 3.
“I am committed for farmers welfare and during my tenure farmers won’t have to stage protests for their genuine demands” said the Chief Minister after the meeting.
The Chief Minister, who had detailed meeting with the farmers union here at Punjab Bhawan, said that the due amount to be paid to the sugarcane farmers by Sugarfed stands at Rs.195.60 crores. Out of this Rs. 100 crore will be paid by August 15 this year and the remaining Rs.95.60 cores will be cleared by September 7. He said that thus all the pending arrears of Government and cooperative Sugar-mills will be paid by September 7. Bhagwant Mann said that even the private sugar mills, except Phagwara sugar mill, have assured that they will pay their arrears of farmers by September 7.
The Chief Minister further said that the state government is also finding ways and means to evolve a viable mechanism for ensuring that farmers do not adopt practice of Stubble burning by duly incentivising them. He said that the process of verification of Direct Sowing of Rice is going on and farmers will be given the due amount soon. On another demand Bhagwant Mann said that the state government will explore the feasibility of cancelling all the FIRs registered against farmers during Covid and others adding that regarding cases registered by Railway Police force during farmers agitation he will take up the matter with Government of India.
The Chief Minister also said that the state government was making all out efforts to make agriculture a profitable venture by bringing out farmers out of the rut of wheat/ paddy cycle. He said that the process of giving jobs to farmers martyred during farm agitation is already going on adding that all the remaining families of farmers attaining martyrdom will be handed over compensation soon. Bhagwant Mann reiterated the firm commitment of state government to bail out the farmers from the current agrarian crisis.
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