Jaipur, (Samajweekly) Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra has put on hold the three farm bills passed by the Rajasthan government on November 2 to bypass the Central farm laws, official sources confirmed on Wednesday.
All the three bills will now be delayed for an indefinite period, the sources added.
The state government had passed the three farm bills to change the ‘disputed’ provisions introduced by the Union government in the three farm laws passed by the Parliament in September. Now, these three legislations can become law only after the approval of the President, the sources said, adding that the Governor can hold the bills for as long as he wants.
The Congress has been objecting the three Central farm laws across the country and has also staged demonstrations in Rajasthan. On November 2, the state Assembly had passed three agricultural bills to change the provisions of the farm laws passed by the state government.
Surprisingly, there has been no progress in these bills since the last one month. While the Pandemic Bill recently got the approval of the Governor, he withheld the three agriculture bills.
The three bills withheld by the Governor include Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The first bill provides for imprisonment for up to seven years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh for oppressing the farmer. The second bill has stringent provisions on contract farming, and imposes a punishment of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh for forcing the farmer to sell his produce for less than its MSP. The third bill empowers the government to impose stock limits on agricultural commodities. This provision was removed by the Centre.
