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Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court made it clear on Monday it is not inclined to issue any direction to the state government to procure paddy harvested by farmers in the Kharif season.
A division bench of Chief Justice SC Sharma and Justice Tukaramji observed that no law made it obligatory for the government to procure paddy or any other crop at Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The bench was dealing with a PIL filed by a law student seeking directions to the Telangana government and Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure the paddy harvested by the state’s farmers in Kharif. “Due to the non-procurement, huge quantities of paddy remain with farmers. They are unable to store it due to lack of storage capacity,” he said.
The petitioner said that due to the rains and bad weather conditions, the paddy had begun sprouting in the fields itself and huge stocks were washed away in the rains and floods.
The Bench questioned the bona fides of the petitioner, asking how he, a law student, filed a PIL on paddy procurement, a matter concerning farmers. “No single farmer came to us and sought issuing of directions to the government to buy the paddy.”
The CJ asked petitioner’s counsel Abhinav Krishna whether he was aware as to what was going on on the procurement front. “Show me a provision enforceable under law for issuance of a direction to the state government to purchase paddy yield at MSP. If there’s one provision, we (court) shall direct the government to do so; We are not the law-makers. We cannot direct a government to buy your crop for such and such rate,” observed the CJ.
Further, the bench said, "To make a law on MSP, Minimum Support Price, adjudication is continuing; the central government cannot make a law because agriculture is state subject; a fight is going on to declare MSP as a law, a five-member committee is meeting tomorrow."
Questioning the legal right for someone to make such a demand, the bench referred to the Telangana government`s decision to extend a help of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of 700 farmers who (reportedly) died in the agitations against farm laws in some states.
Petitioner`s counsel submitted that at least two farmers died at procurement centres due to the non-procurement of paddy as was reported in some newspapers. He also told the bench that the MSP, as prescribed by FCI and the Centre, was Rs 1,960 per quintal. “The ground reality is that the middlemen, none other than the rice mill owners, are purchasing paddy at a menial Rs 1000. The farmers are forced to sell their crop at low price fearing destruction of their produce due to heavy rains and other climatic conditions. This scenario is helping the rice millers and this is happening across the state,” counsel argued.
He requested the court to at least direct the government to take steps to protect the paddy stocks that were already brought to the procurement centres.
BS Prasad, advocate general of Telangana, informed the court that the averments of the petitioner were untrue. Rather, the PIL is premature because the TS government has already commenced the process of purchase from the farmers. This is a continuous process that would go on till the end of January next, he said.
He also submitted that 27.07 lakh metric tonnes of paddy has already been purchased by the state from farmers. A sum of Rs 2,800.72 crore has been paid to 4,53,922 farmers. The process of purchasing paddy is ongoing; some 6,439 procurement centres have been set up by the state, he said.
AG informed the court that the death of the two farmers was due to cardiac arrest and not linked to procurement.
After hearing the contentions and based on an assurance from the Telangana government that it will procure paddy till the end of January, the court said, “We are not inclined to issue any direction. The case adjourned to February. We are directing the government to file counter-affidavits.”
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