‘Private companies cannot dictate to us’: Bhagwant Mann meets Amit Shah, opposes Seed Bill

The Centre had asked all states for their reaction on the Bill, but Punjab had not reacted until now. Sources said that the government has written a separate letter to the Centre lodging its protest against the proposed Bill on Saturday.

The Bill is intended to replace the existing Indian Seed Act, 1966, and the Seed (Control) Order, 1983, but opponents say its provisions go against small farmers and traditional seed systems. It also proposes action against those selling spurious seeds.

The Bill’s main objective is to ensure the availability of quality seeds in the market. This, it says, will prevent the sale of substandard or counterfeit seeds. Under this, mandatory registration and VCU (Value for Cultivation and Use) testing of all seed varieties will be implemented and traceability will be ensured through QR code on each seed pack. Also, strict penalties like a fine of up to Rs 30 lakh and imprisonment of up to three years have been proposed.

From RDF TO SYL, Mann raises other issues

Man also raised the issue of barbed wire on the Indian side of the International Border (IB) with Pakistan. “We share over 532 km of border with Pakistan. On this side of the IB, we have barbed wire as a fence, which is about 2 km from the IB. Thousands of acres of agricultural land fall in this area. The farmers need an ID card to visit their land, and personnel from BSF accompany the farmers to their fields. If this area is squeezed to 300 meters from the border, huge chunks of land will be freed,” he said, adding that Shah told him that the matter was under consideration.

The chief minister also said that he addressed the issue of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal with Shah and said that he told him Punjab does not have a single drop of water to share with any state, hence this issue should be resolved through dialogue. “When there is no water, this issue should be closed while sitting across the table,” he said.

Mann said he also sought the expediting of the movement of foodgrains from the godowns as Punjab will be readying for the procurement of 125 MT wheat produce, and there is no space. “I raised the issue of shifting the huge amount of rice lying in the warehouses of Punjab,” he said. He also raised the issue of withheld commission of commission agents and said that they should hold a meeting with the commission agents’ unions so that it can be resolved.

The chief minister said he also brought up the issue of maintaining a 60:40 ratio (Punjab and Haryana) while posting officers in Chandigarh UT. “I told him that the FCI GM (Food Corporation of India general manager) should be from the Punjab cadre and not the UT cadre. He should understand our culture. He should also understand the Mandi system and the procurement. To this, the home minister asked me to send a panel of three officers, out of which they would select one. Now we will send a panel,” Mann said.

He said he also raised the issue of clearing dues of Rs 8,500 crore on account of the accumulation of the Rural Development Fund ( RDF). “I told him we have to build rural roads so that grains can be brought to the mandis. He assured me that he will take it up on priority and will soon release its first instalment after meeting with the officers,” he said.

On former Delhi CM and AAP leader Atishi’s video controversy, Mann said Delhi Vidhan Sabha was most welcome to get a CBI inquiry done. “When the forensic report stated that she did not use any reference to the Guru, a court asked them to remove the video from social media; they think their CBI is above forensic science. The BJP should get the CBI investigation done,” he said.