AA. Of the 3 agri bills, the third one is essentially an onslaught on common consumers. It takes items out of the list of "essential commodities" and the leverage of the state to keep the prices thereof under check. The almost immediate spike in onion price is a live demonstration of how the Act would operate, in real life.
BB. I. Beyond the explicit provisions of the other two bills - more specifically the one that deals with "trade liberalisation", it's being feared that the APMC Mandis, as provided by the APMC Act, would gradually become dysfunctional - as the corporate traders, in the beginning, would offer higher prices, and, consequently, FCI would shrink its role in procurement - guaranteeing the MSP. When that happens, over a period of time, the *farmers would lose the support of the "support price"*. Individual producers would become all too vulnerable vis-a-vis the large(r) players in the market - procuring the produce. *That's, visibly, the most major concern*. II. As a consequence, the PDS is also bound to collapse. That would severely affect vast sections of ordinary Indians. The second of these two above-referred Acts provides for "contract farming". That also, by its very definition, bypasses the Mandis and the FCI. Hence, reinforces the same process. CC. In case of "contract farming" what is central is the fact that individual farmers would be at a great disadvantage - vis-a-vis the agribusiness partner. I. One may not be able to fathom the "contract", one's entering into. One'll have to sign on dotted lines, in the hope for some extra gains. The actual outcome may turn out to be just the opposite. It's like leaping into dark. It's not necessary that one'd land in a ditch. But, one may very well. II. In case of violation of the "contract", the other party - way stronger, would be in a much better position to either enforce or dodge the "contract". III. Here's a provision that all cases of disputes would be settled and arbitrated, *conclusively* by a government officer - the appellate authority (presided over by Collector or Additional Collector nominated by Collector). The doors for usual judicial remedy are just shut tight. While lengthy legal wranglings have obvious disadvantages for the weaker of the two parties, *final* arbitration by a (specific) government officer - especially under the obtaining conditions, would be like jumping from the frying pan to blazing fire. IV. Not only that, the rather quiet introduction of shutting the door of the "judiciary" - meant to be independent of the "executive", holds a very ominous prospect for the Indian citizenry - across the spectrum. It heralds yet another assault on the "democratic" structure and content of the state. DD. I. By allowing trade outside the designated Mandis, and thereby sidelining these, the state revenues would be further pushed down. This would impact its ability to allocate funds to upgrade agricultural infrastructure. II. It'd also further subvert, already shrinking, federalism. EE. The bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha, visibly, undemocratically, via voice vote (i.e. without voting and counting thereof) - despite demand for voting. That's, apparently, unprecedented and too egregious. (Some Significant) Resources: I. A. <http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2020/222039.pdf>. B. <http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2020/222040.pdf>. C. <http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2020/222038.pdf>. II. <https://idronline.org/the-farm-bills-all-you-need-to-know/>. III. < https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/an-expert-explains-farm-acts-and-federalism-6622769/ >. IV. <https://currentaffairsreview.com/the-three-new-farms-act-2020-2/>. V. <https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/three-farm-bills>. VI. < https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344508649_Impact_of_India's_New_Farm_Act_2020_on_Farmers_and_Markets >. Sukla -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZhRPQe%2Bq_Eurp34hvsoEc1SEZPhxub--UCZokRkkw_0Aw%40mail.gmail.com.
