Justice delayed is justice denied.

Introduction
Bharatiya Kisan Union
The foundation of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) began with the formation of the Punjab Khetibari Zamindari Union (later renamed Punjab Khetibari Union) in May 1972 with the merger of 11 peasants group in Chandigarh.

The social discontent in Indian society since the seventies was manifold. Even those sections that partially benefited in the process of development had many complaints against the state and political parties. Agrarian struggles of the eighties is one such example where better off farmers protested against the policies of the state. Growth In January 1988, around twenty thousand farmers had gathered in the city of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. They were protesting against the government decision to increase electricity rates. The farmers camped for about three weeks outside the district collector's office until their demands were fulfilled.

It was a very disciplined agitation of the farmers and all those days they received regular food supply from the nearby villages. The Meerut agitation was seen as a great show of rural power – power of farmer cultivators. These agitating farmers were members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), an organisation of farmers from western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana regions. The BKU was one of the leading organisations in the farmers' movement of the eighties.

We have noted in Chapter Three that farmers of Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh had benefited in the late 1960s from the state policies of green revolution. Sugar and wheat became the main cash crops in the region since then. The cash crop market faced a crisis in mid-eighties due to the beginning of the process of liberalisation of Indian economy. The BKU demanded higher government floor prices for sugarcane and wheat, abolition of A Bhartiya Kisan Union Rally in Punjab.

Hindustan Times restrictions on the inter-state movement of farm produce, guaranteed supply of electricity at reasonable rates, waiving of repayments due on loans to farmers and the provision of a government pension for farmers. Similar demands were made by other farmers' organisations in the country. Shetkari Sanghatana of Maharashtra declared the farmers' movement as a war of Bharat (symbolising rural, agrarian sector) against forces of India (urban industrial sector). You have already studied in Chapter Three that the debate between industry and 2015-16(21/01/2015)

Rise of Popular Movements 135 Kisan union wants agriculture out of WTO purview By Our Staff Correspondent MYSORE, FEB. 15. The Bharatiya Kisan Union has warned of socio-economic upheavals in the country if India does not bargain to keep agriculture out of the purview of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Addressing a press conference here today, the chief of the union, Mahendra Singh Tikait, and its national coordinating committee convener, M. Yudhveer Singh, warned of the impending dangers if India goes ahead and agrees to the stipulations of the WTO in the next round of meeting scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in November. The leaders said a farmers' rally will be taken out in New Delhi on March 17 to pressure the Government to keep agriculture out of the purview of the WTO. More than five lakh farmers from all over India are expected to attend the rally. Subsequently, the agitation will be intensified across the country.

The Hindu, Feb 16, 2005 agriculture has been one of the prominent issues in India's model of development. The same debate came alive once again in the eighties when the agricultural sector came under threat due to economic policies of liberalisation.

Characteristics
Activities conducted by the BKU to pressurise the state for accepting its demands included rallies, demonstrations, sit-ins, and jail bharo (courting imprisonment) agitations. These protests involved tens of thousands of farmers – sometimes over a lakh – from various villages in western Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions. Throughout the decade of eighties, the BKU organised massive rallies of these farmers in many district headquarters of the State and also at the national capital. Another novel aspect of these mobilisations was the use of caste linkages of farmers. Most of the BKU members belonged to a single community.

The organisation used traditional caste panchayat of these communities in bringing them together over economic issues. In spite of lack of any formal organisation, the BKU could sustain itself for a long time because it was based on clan networks among its members. Funds, resources and activities of BKU were mobilised through these networks. Until the early nineties, the BKU distanced itself from all political parties. It operated as a pressure group in politics with its strength of sheer numbers. The organisation, along with the other farmers' organisations across States, did manage to get some of their economic demands accepted.

The farmers' movement became one of the most successful social movements of the 'eighties in this respect. The success of the movement was an outcome of political bargaining powers that its members possessed. The movement was active mainly in the prosperous States of the country. Unlike most of the Indian farmers who engage in agriculture for subsistence, members of the organisations like the BKU grew cash crops for the market. Like the BKU, farmers' organisations across States recruited their members from communities that dominated regional electoral politics. Shetkari Sanghatana of Maharashtra and Rayata Sangha of Karnataka, are prominent examples of such organisations of the farmers. I have never met anyone who says he wishes to be a farmer. Don't we need farmers in the country?

Earlier Reforms in Agriculture Sector by the current Government

1. Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitating) Act (APLM) 2017
   The APLM Act provides for the recongisition of a State/UT as a single market. Besides, cereals, pulses and oilseeds, the Act seeks to provide for geographically restriction-free trade transaction of agricultural produce including commercial crops like cotton, horticultural crops, livestock, fisheries and poultry. Disintermediation of food supply chain by integration of farmers, processors, exporters, bulk retailers and consumers.
   
   The clear demarcation of the powers and functions between the Director of Agricultural Marketing and Managing Director of State/UT Agricultural Marketing Board with the objective that the former will have to largely carry out regulatory functions, while the latter will be mandated with developmental responsibilities under the Act. Creation of a conducive environment for setting up and operating private wholesale market yards and farmer-consumer market yards, so as to enhance competition among different markets.
   
   Promotion of direct interface between farmers and processors/exporters/bulk-buyers/end users so as to reduce the price spread bringing advantage to both the producers and the consumers. Enabling declaration of warehouses/silos/cold storages and other structures/space as market sub –yard to provide better market access/ linkages to the farmers. Giving freedom to the agriculturalists to sell their produce to the buyers and at the place and time of their choice, to whomsoever and wherever they get better prices. Promotion of e-trading to enhance transparency in trade operations and integration of markets across geographies.
   
   Provisions for single point levy of market fee across the State and unified single trading licence to realise cost-effective transactions. Promotion of the national market for agriculture produce through provisioning of inter- state trading licence, grading and standardization and quality certification. Rationalization of market fee and commission charges. Provision for Special Commodity Market yard(s) and Market yard(s) of National Importance (MNI). Full democratization of Market Committee and State/UT Marketing Board.
   
   Benefit of the model APLM Act 2017
   The APLM Act will aid farmers in better price realisation as they are allowed to sell their produce to the buyers of their choice. The consumers will be benefitted as the prices of agricultural products will come down. It will help the government in achieving the goal of 'doubling farm income by 2022'. It will boost the prospects of food processing industries as the raw material will be available at lower prices. This will help the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in maintaining a healthy food inflation.
    
2. Doubling the farmers income by 2022
   Agriculture and allied sector provides livelihood to 54.6% of the population of India (census 2011) and it contributes 14.4% to the country's Gross Value Added (2018-19) as per Economic Survey 2019. India ranks among the top countries in the world in production of a number of crops including rice, wheat, sugarcane, fruits and vegetables. Farmers are and will remain the drivers of Agricultural sector. Since the development of Farm mechanisation in India is still below the mark due to several factors like small land holdings, equipment cost and poor credit availability, the role of farmer in agriculture holds crucial importance and it is our imperative to ensure that farmers find Agriculture as a profitable economic activity.
   
   In this backdrop, National Commission for Farmers was constituted in 2004, chaired by Prof. M. S. Swaminathan, to suggest methods for faster and more inclusive growth for farmers. Then, the Government of India in 2016 constituted an expert committee headed by Ashok Dalwai to look into the entire agriculture ecosystem in the country to suggest ways and means to reform it so that farmers' income can be doubled by 2022. The Committee submitted its final report to the Government in September 2018. Now, the government is in the process of setting up a panel to monitor the implementation of the recommendation of the Doubling Farmers' Income (DFI) committee.
    
3.  Significant changes in fixation of MSP

Key Information about Doubling Farmer Income Initiative
The reference year for farmer income is 2015-16 and target year is 2022-2023. The aim is to double the Real Income of farmer and not the nominal income. According to NITI Aayog, farmers' income in 2015-16 was Rs. 44027 in real terms. In order to achieve the aim, an annual growth of 10.41% is required in farmers' income.

Ashok Dalawi Committee
The Union Government has constituted 8-member inter-ministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers' income by 2022.
The committee will be headed by Ashok Dalwai, Additional secretary at the Union Agriculture Ministry and is expected to submit the report in two months.
Its members will include officials from Agriculture and Food Ministries, experts from the Delhi-based National Council of Applied Economic Research and National Institute of
Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.

Terms of reference of the Committee
Prepare plan to shift farm policies to income based from current production-oriented. Identify potential areas of agriculture where more investment should happen.
Suggest ways to reduce the risk of farming by diversifying to horticulture and allied activities like livestock and fisheries to boost income.
Suggest measures for reducing the cost of cultivation and addressing unpredictability of weather and price fluctuations in farm sector.

Background
In the Union Budget 2016-17, Government had announced to double farm incomes by 2022. To follow up its budget announcement, Government decided to set up the committee.
Union Government is focusing on increasing crop yields and reducing the cost of cultivation in order to increase the net income of farmers.
For this purpose, Government had launched various schemes related to agriculture sector to bring down the cost of cultivation.

The committee submitted its final report to the Government in September 2018. Now, the government is in the process of settings up a panel to monitor the implementation of the recommendation of the Doubling Farmers Income (DFI) committee.

Minimum Support Price
The MSP is the rate at which the government buys grains from farmers.
Reason behind the idea of MSP is to counter price volatility of agricultural commodities due to the factors like variation in their supply, lack of market integration and information asymmetry.

When was the MSP introduced in India?
At the time of Independence, India was staring at a major deficit in terms of cereal production. After the struggling first decade, India decided to go for extensive agricultural reforms. It was the first time in the year 1966-67 that the Minimum Support Price was introduced by the Centre. At Rs 54 per quintal, the MSP for wheat was fixed for the first time.

Fixation of MSP
The MSP is fixed on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
Factors taken into consideration for fixing MSP include:

Demand and supply
Cost of production (A2 + FL method)
Price trends in the market, both domestic and international
Inter-crop price parity
Terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture
A minimum of 50% as the margin over cost of production and
Likely implications of MSP on consumers of that product.

The Commission also makes visits to states for on-the-spot assessment of the various constraints that farmers face in marketing their produce, or even raising the productivity levels of their crops.

Based on all these inputs, the Commission then finalizes its recommendations/reports, which are then submitted to the government.

The government, in turn, circulates the CACP reports to state governments and concerned Central Ministries for their comments.

After receiving the feed-back from them, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) of the Union government takes a final decision on the level of MSPs and other recommendations made by the CACP.

Procurement: The Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal central agency of the Government of India, along with other State Agencies undertakes procurement of crops.
The CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, formed in 1965. It is a statutory body that submits separate reports recommending prices for Kharif and Rabi seasons.

National Commission on Farmers: Swaminathan Committee
On 18th November, 2004, the Union government formed the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) with MS Swaminathan as its chairman.
The main aim of the committee was to come up with a sustainable farming system, make farm commodities cost-competitive and more profitable.
It, in 2006, recommended that MSPs must be at least 50% more than the cost of production.
It talked about the cost of farming at three levels:

A2: All the types of cash expenditure to generate the crop like seeds, manure, chemicals, labour costs, fuel costs and irrigation costs.
A2+FL: It includes A2 plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour.
C2: Under C2, the estimated land rent and the cost of interest on the money taken for farming are added to A2 and FL.

What was the need of introducing MSP?
On the path of the Green Revolution, Indian policymakers realised that the farmers needed incentives to grow food crops. Otherwise, they won't opt for crops such as wheat and paddy as they were labour-intensive and didn't fetch lucrative prices. Hence, to incentivise the farmers and boost production, the MSP was introduced in the 1960s.

How many crops are covered under the MSP?
At present, the Centre provides the MSP for 23 crops. These include cereals such as bajra, wheat, maize, paddy barley, ragi and jowar; pulses like tur, chana, masur, urad and moong; oilseeds such as safflower, mustard, niger seed, soyabean, groundnut, sesame and sunflower. The MSP also covers commercial crops of raw jute, cotton, copra and sugarcane.

How did the government fix the MSPs of crops before every planting season?
The CACP considered various factors while recommending the MSP for a commodity, including the cost of cultivation.
It also takes into account the supply and demand situation for the commodity; market price trends (domestic and global) and parity vis-à-vis other crops; and implications for consumers (inflation), environment (soil and water use) and terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.

How was this production cost arrived at?
The CACP projects three kinds of production cost for every crop, both at the state and all-India average levels.
'A2' covers all paid-out costs directly incurred by the farmer — in cash and kind — on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, hired labour, leased-in land, fuel, irrigation, etc.
'A2+FL' includes A2 plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour.
'C2' is a more comprehensive cost that factors in rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capital assets, on top of A2+FL.

Ms Swaminathan Committee said farmer will get 50% profit extra than what the resources they are investing including human resource and capital. But from the recent survey we concluded that the 14% of the farmer only get the benefit of the MSP remaining 86% don't get the promise price due to the corruption even in the government platform so how you say that farmer will not be exploited by the big businessman.

Measures taken so far
Feb 2016 PM Modi announces target to double farmer income by 2022 at a farmer's rally in Uttar Pradesh.
April 2016 Centre sets up an interministerial committee to recommend a strategy to raise farm incomes.
Centre launches e-NAM as a pan India digital market for farm produce.
Jan 2016 New crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana rolled out.
April 2017 Centre pushes states to adopt a new agriculture and livestock marketing Act.
Feb 2018 Budget promises to fix MSP at 50% plus costs and introduce measures to ensure MSP-based purchases.
May 2018 Centre finalizes Model Contract Farming Act.
Jul 2018 MSPs for kharif crops increased to ensure 50% returns over cost to farmers.
September 2018 Centre launches new MS-based procurement scheme PM-AASHA for pulses and oilseeds.

Three bills introduced by the Government of India
The three bills introduced by the Modi government in the current session of Parliament are: The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Earlier, these reforms were announced as part of the third tranche of the economic package announced under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

The new bills, when passed by the Parliament will give effect to the amendments proposed to the Essential Commodities Act and bring in two new central laws on trading and marketing of farm produce in the country.

The objective of the three proposed laws is to make way for creating the Modi government's ambitious vision of 'One India, One Agriculture Market'. The law intends to end the monopoly of Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in carrying out the trade of farm produce in the country.

The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020:
The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition. Farmers can now sell their agricultural produce in a market of their choice at better prices.

• The newly proposed law will allow intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers' produce beyond the physical premises of APMC markets thus giving freedom for the farmers and traders to sell or purchase farm products anywhere.
• The proposed law also provides buyers with the freedom to buy farmers' produce outside the APMC markets without having any license or paying any fees to APMCs.
• The Bill prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess or levy on farmers, traders for the trade conducted on farmers' produce conducted in an 'outside trade area'.
• Under the proposed law, electronic trading in transaction platform has been proposed for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. The proposed law also allows private individuals, FPOs and co-ops to set up electronic trading platforms in these areas.
• There will also be a separate dispute resolution mechanism for the farmers.

Clarification:
Procurement at Minimum Support Price will continue, farmers can sell that produce at MSP rates, the MSP for Rabi season will be announced next week.

Mandis will not stop functioning, trading will continue here as before. Under the new system, farmers will have the option to sell their produce at other places in addition to the Mandis.
The e-NAM trading system will also continue in the mandis.
Trading in farm produce will increase on electronic platforms. It will result in greater transparency and time saving.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020:
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 creates a framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.

• The proposed law provides for a farming agreement between a farmer and a buyer prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. The minimum period of an agreement will be one crop season or one production cycle of livestock.
• Under this legislation, farmers are empowered to directly engage with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, retailers exporters etc, thus eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realisation of the price for the farm produce.
• The proposed law also states that the price of farming produce negotiated between the trader and the farmer should be mentioned in the agreement.
• The buyer will be responsible for providing necessary means or inputs for good crop yield. Under the bill, it is the responsibility of the buyer to provide agricultural equipment to the farmer.
• It provides for a three-level dispute settlement mechanism: the conciliation board, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Appellate Authority.

Clarification:
The farmers will have full power in the contract to fix a sale price of his choice for the produce. They will receive payments within maximum 3 days.

10000 Farmers Producer organizations are being formed throughout the country. These FPOs will bring together small farmers and work to ensure remunerative pricing for farm produce.
After signing contract, farmers will not have seek out traders. The purchasing consumer will pick up the produce directly from the farm.

In case of dispute, there will be no need to go to court repeatedly. There will be local dispute redressal mechanism.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020:
The amendments to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 allows the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items only under extraordinary circumstances.

• Under the legislation, the central government may regulate or prohibit the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce of such essential commodities.
• The proposed bill provides for the central government to regulate the supply of certain food items including cereals, pulses, potatoes, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, only under extraordinary circumstances.
• The legislation requires that imposition of any stock limit on agricultural produce must be based on price rise.
• The bill amends the Essential Commodities Act to provide that stock limits for agricultural products can be imposed only when retail prices increase sharply and exempts value chain participants and exporters from any stock limit.
• The government while liberalizing the regulatory environment, has also ensured that interest of consumers are safeguarded. It has been provided in the amendment, that in situations such as war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity, such agricultural foodstuff can be regulated. However, the installed capacity of a value chain participant and the export demand of an exporter will remain exempted from such stock limit imposition so as to ensure that investments in agriculture are not discouraged.

Significance of the proposed laws:
The three historic legislation will unlock the overly regulated agricultural markets in the country.
The laws will provide more choices for the farmer and lessen the marketing costs for the farmers thus helping them to get better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers of regions with shortages, lower prices.
The laws will enable the farmer to make use of modern technology and better inputs to enhance their farm produce and its trade. It will reduce the cost of marketing and improve the income of farmers.
These new laws will encourage large companies, food processing firms, exporters, etc, to invest in the farm sector and source good-quality farm produce.
The announced amendment to the Essential Commodities Act is expected to help both farmers and consumers while bringing in price stability.
The proposed changes will also create a competitive market environment and prevents wastage of agri-produce that happens due to lack of storage facilities.

Pros & Cons of the new Farm Bills
Pros of the new Farm Bills
The farmers had moved towards a freer and more flexible system.
Selling produces outside the physical territory of the mandis will be an additional marketing channel for the farmers.
The new bill has not brought any major drastic changes, only a parallel system working with the existing system. Prior to these bills, farmers can sell their produce to the whole world, but via the e- NAM system.
The amendment to the Essential Commodities Act which is one of the three bills under protest removes the scare or fear of the farmers that traders who buy from farmers would be punished for holding stocks that are deemed excess and inflicting losses for the farmers.
The bills ensure that the farmer or the producer is given the same attention as production is and the farmer gets the stipulated price for crops, so that farming survives.
The prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted on September 20th, that the “system of MSP will remain” and “government procurement will continue”. The Agriculture Minister also stated that past governments actually never thought it mandatory to introduce a law for MSP.
In the existing APMC system, it is mandatory for farmers to go through a trader (via Mandis) so as to sell their produce to consumers and companies and they receive Minimum Selling Prices for their produce. It was this very system that has influenced the rise to a cartel led by traders and uncompetitive markets due to which the farmers are paid MSP (a very low price) for their produces.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.

Cons of the Farm Bills
The Farm Bills hampers with the monopoly of APMC (agricultural produce market committee) mandis, thereby allowing sale and purchase of crops outside these state government-regulated market yards or mandis.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill does not give any statutory backing to MSP. The farmers have nothing to do with the legal system but everything to do with the MSP, a price at which they sell their produce, there is not even a mention of either “MSP” or “Procurement” in the said bill.
The government declares MSPs for crops, but there has been no law mandating their implementation.
The only crop where MSP payment has some statutory implementation is sugarcane for which FRP is determined. This is due to its pricing being governed by the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 issued under the Essential Commodities Act.
The new bills are placing farmers and traders at the mercy of civil servants, rather than of the courts.

Protest started against the bill:

• Reason why farmer are protesting (there demand).
• Why government of India is not taking this issue seriously.

Reasons why farmer are protesting?
The Delhi Chalo Protest
Recently, Farmers Union from Punjab has been protesting who are part of "Delhi Chalo" march against the move of the Centre in passing the farm laws. Farmers have been marching into the NCT of Delhi to voice their demands so that the Centre would eventually surrender before the farmers. Heavy security has been deployed at Delhi - Haryana border where the farmers have been protesting. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that some of the protesting farmers have been invited for talks with the Central Government.

These Bills represent fairly important changes in marketing regulation and are what many were asking for because of the flaws in the APMC [Agricultural Produce Market Committee] system.
But at the same time, they are worrying for two reasons.
The first is in what they say. The Bills have lacunae: lack of regulation, regulatory oversight and reporting. They're somewhat non-transparent.
The second is what they do not say. You can't have marketing Bills that are devoid of the larger context of State intervention in agriculture, and agricultural policy.

Demand of Farmers

1. Is an undisputed fact that there was no consultation undertaken by the central government at the time of promulgating the ordinances, and subsequently while pushing the bills through the Parliament”.
    
2. Notwithstanding the several pro-corporate and perceived anti-farmer provisions in the farm laws, the Union government has by-passed the federal structure by legislating on subjects that exclusively fall within the domain of the state government under the state list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
    
3. The global experience across agricultural markets demonstrates that corporatisation of agriculture without a concomitant security net in the form of an assured payment guarantee to the farmers results in the exploitation of farmers at the hands of big business.
   
   This poses a significant challenge to small and marginal farmers who constitute 86 per cent of our agricultural class, the write. The present laws alter the bargaining landscape in favour of the corporate players to the detriment of the farmers. The fact that farmers believe this to be so cannot be shrugged away.
    
4. The primary cause for concern is the systematic dismantling of the APMC mandis, which have stood the test of time and have provided farmers the remuneration to keep themselves afloat. “The farm laws open the field to an alternate set of markets/private yards, where the buyer will have no statutory obligation to pay the minimum support price (MSP). Since the said markets/private yards will not be charged any market fee/levy; the agricultural sector will see the gradual shifting of trade from the APMC mandis to these private yards, they point out.
    
5. The market fee collected by the APMC mandis is used for the development of rural infrastructure, link roads and storage facilities. The shifting of trade to avoid payment of any levy/market fee by private players and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will eventually witness the redundancy of the APMC mandis, leaving the farmers at the mercy of the corporate sharks.
    
6. The new farm laws expressly exclude the jurisdiction of the civil court, leaving the farmers remediless and with no independent medium of dispute redressal mechanism.
    
7. Most of the slogans at the farmers' protests revolve around the need to protect MSPs, or minimum support prices, which they feel are threatened by the new laws. Farmers are also demanding that MSPs be made universal, within mandis and outside, so that all buyers government or private will have to use these rates as a floor price below which sales cannot be made.

What are the challenges Indian Government is facing to tackle the issue?
Even after five rounds of talks between the agitating farmers and the Modi government, no solution to the continuing siege of Delhi seems to have emerged. What is making it particularly difficult for the government to deal with the farmer leaders is their determination, refusal to compromise coupled with some novel features in their conduct and leadership.

Modified trolleys-Prepared for the long haul
The farmers are prepared to stay put at Delhi's borders for several months. Travelling in tractor trolleys that double up as night shelters is not a new concept in Punjab. During the annual three-day Shaheedi Jor Mela held in the last week of December at Fatehgarh Sahib, visited by lakhs, these specially-modified trolleys are a common sight.

Villagers from across Punjab arrive ahead of the mela in such trolleys carrying ration, utensils, cooking fuel, wood, gas cylinders and even bikes (to do the local running around) to organise langars for the visitors. They park the trolleys on roadsides and make it their home for over a week.

The inside of a trolley is divided using wooden planks into an upper area used to store belongings and the lower sitting and sleeping area is cushioned. Since the mela takes place during extreme winter, these trolleys are completely sealed with plastic sheets.

“It is no wonder that the farmers simply went to Delhi and started cooking their food and living out of these trolleys as if this is something which they have done all their lives. But it's not as easy as it looks,” said Gurdarshan Singh, a farmer from Chunni Kalan.

Stage control - Keeping it a political
While the trolleys are lined up for several kilometres on the road leading to the Singhu border, the epicentre of the protest is the spot where a makeshift stage has been built. It has a loudspeaker system that addresses the farmers all day long.

All important announcements about the outcome of meetings with the government and future course of action are made. Apart from farmer leaders, activists, singers, actors and sportspersons have spoken on the stage in the past few days. To keep the focus on the agitation, the unions deputed 30 volunteers to keep a strict control on who gets onto the stage to speak.

“No politician is allowed to speak. And no Khalistan ideologue will speak from the stage. Anyone who jeopardises or has the potential to sidetrack the movement is not welcome,” said Gurmeet Singh, vice-president, BKU (Dakaunda).

At least 400 volunteers have also been put in place to guard the periphery of the protest site to spot suspicious persons and trouble-makers.

Rotating pradhans - No single power centre
Although the farmer bodies in Punjab are highly factionalised they have shown remarkable unity for this protest. The agitation began with 10 farmer unions in June but by September, 31 organisations had joined. Ever since, this conglomerate has followed a democratic way of conducting meetings and taking decisions. Every meeting is presided over by the head of one of these 31 unions in rotation.

“The pradhan of the day chairs the meeting and later addresses the press about the decisions. No union leader should feel that because he is heading a smaller union he does not have the same say as the head of a larger union,” said Gurmeet Singh.

This also ensures that no one leader is imbued with the power to take a decision for the rest of the unions. “Which also makes it difficult for anyone to break the unity because in this kind of leadership everybody matters,” Gurmeet Singh added.

No Daana Pani — Show of moral resolve
Terming it as a “satyagraha”, farmer leaders have refused to accept any hospitality from the government during the meetings with the ministers. They have, instead, called for their own food cooked as part of the langar from the protest spot and eaten it sitting on the floor of Vigyan Bhawan.

“This shows to both the government and the thousands of supporters who have followed us here that our resolve is unwavering. The first day when we accepted the hospitality, the ministers went to town saying that we had tea and the talks were cordial,” Gurmeet Singh said.

“That is when we decided that we will not allow the government to send out a message that we are non-serious or are here to have their tea and coffee. This is a matter of our livelihood, our survival and our conduct should reflect that.”

Yes or No — Building decisive pressure
The farmer leaders virtually brought the talks to a halt during the fifth round of meeting Saturday after they all decided to go quiet, undertake a maun vrat and put up placards before the ministers, demanding a yes or a no to repealing the three farm Acts.

“This demand is completely non-negotiable. The government is ready to amend them but that is not acceptable to us,” farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan who heads the BKU (Ugrahan) told the media outside the Vigyan Bhawan Saturday.

“And since the conversation was getting repetitive and nothing new seemed to be coming out of it, we decided to ask them for a one word answer — yes or no?” he added.

Matter went into the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Monday, 11th January 2021 made strong oral observations criticizing the Central Government for its handling of the farmers protests. A bench comprise Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, Justices V Ramasubramanian and AS Bopanna was hearing a batch of petitions which seek the removal of the protesting farmer near Delhi border.
CJI said-
We are extremely disappointed at the way government is handling all this (farmers protests). We don't know what consultative process you followed before the laws. Many states are up in rebellion.

We are sorry to say that you, as the Union of India, are not able to solve the problem. You have made a law without enough consultation resulting in a strike. So, you have to resolve the strike.

The Centre did not respond to the suggestion made by the Court on 17th December 2020 regarding the withholding of implementation of laws.

The CJI also noted:
These laws are a clear encroachment on State functions. Agriculture is a State subject but yet the Centre got the laws passed through the via media of trading, which falls in the concurrent list. These legislations are clearly violating the federal principle. Supreme Court should ask the government to repeal the laws.

Its clear with the act of government of India that are free to do whatever they like to do because there is no strong opposition in our country. Government needs to understand if you are making law for the people and the people for the law you make are not happy then what's the propose of that law. They are not agreeing to take the case back just because its going to effect on the image of the BJP government. Or it may affect on the upcoming election?

As a common man I request to the government of India just consider the point how much a person is suffering who left their house and protesting on the street for their right. Please respect the citizen who gave you a power to rule on them if they give you a power, they also have right to through you out from the power.

CJI Form A Committee to Resolve The Issue Supreme Court On Farmers Protest after the government fail in Negotiation with the farmer
The Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 4 member committee for the purpose of holding talks between the Central Government and the farmers to resolve the protests over the three contentious farm laws. A notable feature of the composition is that all four member of the composition is that all four members have expressed open views in support of the implementation of the farm laws. Bhupinder Singh Mann, National President, Bhartiya Kisan Union and All India Kisan Coordination Committee.

The Committee, which has been asked to hold its first sitting within 10 days, has to submit its report within 2 months to the Supreme Court. The top court has stayed the implementation of the farm laws until further orders. The SC also observed that "the representatives of all the farmers' bodies, whether they are holding a protest or not and whether they support or oppose the laws shall participate in the deliberations of the Committee.
Current status the supreme court put stay on this bill.

Conclusion
There cannot be minor tweaks; major corrections need to be done. The consultative process that was missing within our federal democratic structure at least some amount of that needs to be done. It may sound like an alarmist, but on the face of it, if these acts undermine the grain procurement system, there could be Balkanisation of the country. It's not simply a matter of farmers anymore, it's a much deeper concern. The biggest worry stems from the fact that only six per cent of the country's farmers have been able to sell their prices at MSP. This leaves 94 per cent of farmers who are forced to sell their produce at prices lower than the Minimum Support Price determined by the government.

Current Status of Farmers' Income
The estimates for farmers' income are not published by CSO. The absence of adequate information makes it difficult to analyse the growth trends in farmer's income. According to NSSO survey, for the year 2012-13, the average annual income for a farm household from farm as well as non-farm source was Rs.77,112. A study by Chand et al in 2015 reveals that it took 22 years (1993-94 and 2015-16) to double the farmers' real income. More than 20% of the farmers in India are Below Poverty Line.

Government need to consider that the farmer and the big corporator are not on equal level, they don't have the same level of understanding of these laws. This law only going to be work if our farmer are more educate and if the big corporator are punish strictly if they do something wrong. Still lot of farmer are uneducated they don't how to deal with the big firm and what the right and remedies they have. Trusting the government seems to be the real hurdle for the country's farmers.
Without strong institutional arrangements, the free market may harm lakhs of unorganised small farmers, who have been remarkably productive and shored up the economy even during a pandemic.
If big firm take an entry in this field than there is strong possibility that small farmer may lose there land and they will remain as a servant of the big firm.

Ms Swaminathan Committee said farmer will get 50% profit extra than what the resources they are investing including human resource and capital. But from the recent survey we concluded that the 14% of the farmer only get the benefit of the MSP remaining 86% don't get the promise price due to the corruption even in the government platform so how you say that farmer will not be exploited by the big businessman.

Simplest solution against the protest of the farmers with respect to the farm bills can be including statutory backing to the minimum selling prices and procurement in the new bill to eradicate the fear of the farmers. Giving farmers the choice to sell without the help of middlemen will be of great use only if there are roads that link villages to markets, climate-controlled storage facilities, the electricity supply is made reliable and available to power those facilities, and food processing companies who compete to buy their produce.

The CACP who recommends MSP along with the Central ministries and State Governments itself is not any statutory body set up by the Parliament. It is only a government policy that is part of administrative decision-making. The government declares MSPs for crops, but there is no legal implication. The government can procure at the MSPs if it wants to thus the system of MSP will remain and government procurement will continue, this fear had to be clarified even further and farmers should be guided well in this regard.

Written By:

1. Rohit Jagwani And
2. Aryan Yadav