The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has rolled back the controversial criterion, which made it mandatory for the farmers to submit land revenue record for the sale of their produce to the central agency. The rider, it was learnt, has been taken back only for Punjab, as farmers here had been protesting against it. “We have rolled back the guidelines for Punjab. Now, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) officials would certify the bona fide status of the farmers,” CCI Chairman and Managing Director S C Grover told Newsline today. The decision was conveyed to the Punjab government on telephone on Wednesday night, it was learnt. In the morning today, Darbara Singh Guru, Principal Secretary to the Punjab CM, shot off an email to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) with an appeal from the CM to suspend the Rail Roko in the light of CCI rolling back its guidelines. “Parkash Singh Badal had taken up the matter with the Prime Minister and the Union Textile Minister,” read the email, adding that the CCI had agreed to procure cotton without asking for land revenue documents. The email also quoted the CCI CMD as saying that full MSP of Rs 2,800 would be paid for the cotton meeting specifications, namely staple length between 27.5 and 28.0 mm, micronaire (softness or roughness) between 3.8 and 4.8 and moisture content 8 per cent. The CCI has also assured that it would test the cotton for above the parameters, if a farmer asked for it. Following the developments, BKU (Ekta) observed a victory rally in Rampura Phul. Union general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, however, said farmers blocked railway traffic near Maur Mandi against getting price lower than the MSP. “I have taken up the matter with the government,” he added.
