Road blocking and Farm Laws

December 10, 2020
Devinder Dhingra

Satyam (The Truth)

Any citizen would love to be with the farmers and stand by them if they have something concrete to say but is blocking a road and disturbing the traffic for an undefined time and without any approval a solution? What about the others’ right as citizens of India who want to use the same road for their work, travel or otherwise?

The other way around if a government is not listening, an obvious alternative to violence is blocking the road if you want to remain peaceful and at the same time cause disruption somehow. But how long? That’s the first question. Secondly, in the case of ongoing farmers’ agitation, the talks are happening and it is not that the Government is not paying heed to the farmers’ suggestions. So, why disrupt traffic? An agitation can very well continue without disturbing the masses at large.

Who needs to take action to clear the road?

Last time we saw that neither state Government nor central Government took any action in Shaheen Bagh’s case. Thanks to Covid-19 that finally made it possible what was appearing very difficult. And then thanks to our honorable Supreme Court that took its own time but eventually made a comment that roads can’t be blocked for infinite time, albeit it would have been better if they had augmented it further to specify what the finite time could be in such cases. If no fixed time is mentioned, it is still ambiguous since anything close to infinity is also infinity.

Ironically, politics these days seems to have no cross-line. When a Government has to act it must and at the same time when opposition has to support a cause it also must rise above the vote-bank politics. Expecting the Honorable Supreme Court to intervene in each and every case is also not right.

Stubbornness? We may call it so if both the parties remain adamant on their take as is happening in the ongoing agitation, the farmers asking for repealing of laws and the Government not repealing.

But then what’s the alternative?

Let us remain unbiased. If an agitating leader demands repealing of laws and at the same time vouches for creating the laws again that are finalized including them in the process, why should the Government repeal the laws? A simple solution would be to reach an agreement on the amendments to the laws. Isn’t it?

Any government has to face opposition whatever it does and, in this case, since the new farm laws are for the entire country, they need to think about people at large and not just a few states.

The farmers that are agitating may be right in their apprehensions and have full right to seek clarification and amendments, but why to remain adamant unnecessarily?

Shivam (The Solution)

Regarding road-blocking, there has to be a cap on how long such disruption can be allowed.

Regarding laws, let me give my two cents:

The first law is regarding the free market. A farmer can sell to anyone anywhere in the country. Sounds good. But obviously it may make farmers worry about losing MSP. Fairly speaking, the concept of MSP and free market don’t go hand-in-hand. In a free market, MSP is decided by the seller. So, farmers are free to decide their price which may be less than MSP in some cases and more than MSP in other cases. And if they don’t want to keep it less than MSP in any case, they are free to even do that in a free market.

A change always brings losing something and gaining something else. A free market is essential for the growth and at the same time works on demand-supply concept. Government may only guarantee MSP when it itself makes a purchase. If it guarantees any price in a free market, that would go against the basic philosophy of such a market since at the end of the day, it’s the consumption that would decide how much a government or a private player can afford to pay and buy.

One solution to this deadlock could be to guarantee some minimum purchase by the Government (both Center/State) at MSP so that a farmer knows that at least part of his or her produce would be sold and at a particular price.

The second law is regarding contract-farming. Here, the farmers’ apprehension appears valid. Though any contract is anyway legally bound even if there is no special law in place, small farmers may not be that educated ones to notice the nuances of a contract.

One solution in this case could be the Government’s intervention in each and every such contract to make sure that no land-grabbing, land-leasing etc. is possible given the terms and conditions in such contracts. Maybe a sort of Government approval for a contract or some standard wording approved by the Government for such contracts. Even all the farmer leaders may unite together to make sure the interests of farmers are taken care of in such contracts.

The third law is regarding no limit on storage of produce. It may or may not be a problem. Nobody would hoard a produce forever till it gets rotten. But at the same time may cause a price-spike at times with less supply when there is huge demand.

Here too, the Government shall have an option to specify time-windows when such storage could not be allowed. If the Government increases its presence in the agriculture sector it would be even better since then it can control and balance the things so as not to let the price skyrocket.

---

More to read

Some tips for people seeking astrological consultation

As an astrologer, it is very important to know one’s limitations. And as a seeker, it’s important to find the right guy ..Read the full article..

Nothing is stable

We’re currently living in a highly competitive world and getting the desired settlement for the child is bound to go difficult day by day. Salaried class thinks business is better ..Read the full article..

Gold selling Tips - old jewelry

You might be wondering why I’m choosing this topic today and how I am connected with this. Well, ‘versatile’, that’s me. Whatever I do I try to do my best and it comes naturally to me. The first thing: the process ..Read the full article..