Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 Listed for Winter Session; Gets Approval from Union Cabinet

The matter of repealing the three controversial farm laws has been approved by the Union Cabinet today. The three laws triggered extensive protests around borders of the national capital for almost a year.  

“The Union Cabinet meeting today approved ‘The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021’ and gave its official nod to the proposal to withdraw the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, which was passed by the Parliament in September last year”, reports citing officials familiar to the matter stated. 

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to scrap the disputed agriculture laws will be followed by the Cabinet’s approval to the repeal bill if at all it is granted today. On Gurupurab, in a television address, PM Modi said that “The government will be repealing the three pieces of legislation”, also he personally apologized to the people of the country and acknowledged that there was a ‘deficiency’ in attempts to convince the farmers. 

“The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 has now been listed by the Central Government in its agenda for the winter session of the Parliament which will begin on 29^th November. Deliberation is going on in the agriculture ministry on the exact dates to discuss the three laws in the forthcoming Parliament session”, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi said. 

26 bills have been listed for introduction and passage on the agenda of the government including the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, which seeks to repeal the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 – which provides for setting a mechanism allowing the farmers to sell their farm produce outside the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs). Any license-holding trader can buy the produce from the farmers at mutually agreed prices. 

This trade of farm produce will be free of mandi tax imposed by the state governments, the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Act, 2020 - this allows farmers to do contract farming and market their produces freely, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 – it is an amendment to the existing Essential Commodities Act.