As SC panel on farmers’ issues Rs 2.5 cr bill, Punjab dithers, Haryana agrees

The committee was constituted on September 2, 2024, under former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nawab Singh to resolve grievances of farmers. The committee comprises retired IPS officer B S Sandhu, agriculture expert Devinder Sharma, economist Professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman and Punjab State Farmers’ and Farm Workers’ Commission chairman Sukhpal Singh.

While the committee is functioning from the PWD rest house in Panchkula in Haryana, it holds meetings at Punjab Kisan Bhawan and Haryana Niwas in Chandigarh.

A committee member said that the Supreme Court had asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to pay for the logistics. “While the vehicles are also provided by the Haryana government, the committee needs fuel, helpers, researchers, typists, and other staff also. We hold meetings. We call experts and arrange for their boarding and lodging. All this requires money. Moreover, it was the apex court that had asked the governments of both the states to fund the committee for the logistic support,” the member said.

He added that the issue had come up for discussion in one of their meetings. “It was at that point that a Haryana official had said that they would not mind funding the entire expenses. But big brother Punjab would not like it. Hence, the bill has been put up to both governments in a 50:50 ratio,” he said.

The Supreme Court order had stated that the “chief secretaries and director generals of police of both the states are directed to provide all the logistic support, vehicles and other infrastructural facilities as may be required by the high-powered committee to swing into action. In this regard, the chief secretaries and director generals of police of both the states are directed to consult the chairperson of the high-powered committee and do the needful”.

The orders had also stated that “the ancillary issues like honorarium to be paid to the chairperson and members of the high-powered committee, keeping in view the volume of the work entrusted to them or the apportionment of the expenditure between the two states, will be considered by us in consultation with the chairperson and members of the high-powered committee and both the state governments”.

A source in the panel said that they had written to the Punjab government in October-end after it was discussed in a meeting with Chief Secretaries of both the states that the governments will be sharing the logistic cost. Over two months have passed but the Punjab government has not paid anything. The source said that they had written a straight letter to Chief Secretaries of both the governments that the panel will need Rs 5 crore and both the states would share the cost. He added that Punjab government has not communicated anything to the panel ever since that letter. “They have not sought any clarification from us on the issue. We had just mentioned the amount. There was no break up given,” said the source.

A Punjab government functionary said that Rs 2.5 crore was a huge amount, “Had it been in lakhs, we would have cleared it by now. However, it is a huge money. We do not know why the panel needs so much money. Even if the Supreme Court has asked us to pay for the logistic support, we cannot disburse any amount. The panel only has to hold meetings. All they need is refreshments. That should not cost more than Rs 2,000 in a meeting. The officers will not take any responsibility for themselves. It will require the Chief Minister’s approval.”