Draft law on regulation of fertilisers: Don’t criminalise farmers, ASHA tells Centre

The Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) has opposed some provisions in the Draft Built-in Plant Diet Management Bill, 2022 alleging that they consider away the rights of States and farmers.

Asking the Central govt not to introduce any provision that could criminalise farmers, it needs a provision that makes it possible for farmers or other aggrieved events to search for legal recourse if they are not happy with the appellate authority’s resolutions.

ASHA, a community of volunteers that find to promote sustainable farm livelihoods and farmers’ rights in India, wished a system to permit the State governments to control the price, distribution and movement of fertilisers notified by them from time to time.

“It is significant that bio-fertilisers, bio-stimulants and non-edible deoiled cakes are regulated by Condition governments to suit their individual conditions,” it stated.

In its comments to the draft floated by the Union Ministry of Fertilisers, ASHA also felt that farmers should really be guarded from any inadvertent criminalisation and penalisation penalties.

“The restriction with regard to the use of fertilisers ought to exclude the farmers and ought to not criminalise them in any way,” it reported.

A independent approach must be there for bio-stimulant, natural and organic fertilisers, bio-fertilisers and non-edible de-oiled cakes, which incentivise localised production for localised distribution.

“This ought to implement to registration for manufacture as properly as for actual sale, stocking and distribution of a sure established of fertilisers. This should really be squarely below the purview of Condition governments,” it additional.

Referring to the provision that bars folks from manufacturing, marketing and marketing of fertilisers with out “obtaining the correct registration”, ASHA felt that the regulation should basically incentivise self-help groups, NGOs and pastoralists to deliver natural fertilisers, bio-fertilisers, bio-stimulate and non-edible de-oiled cakes for community markets.

Payment

It preferred the authorities to spell out payment mechanisms for aggrieved farmers (who ordered sub-common, misbranded or spurious fertilisers) at the taluka-level in the statute alone.

“Consumer Safety Act is not a suitable statute where farmers can hope to get justice, even though the complete regulation of fertilisers is now remaining proposed under this new statute,” it felt.

It would also contact for a fund to choose care of payment of compensations to farmers.

It observed fault with the provision that bars civil courts to have jurisdiction more than the issues that come less than this Act, ASHA claimed that there ought to be a provision to allow for the aggrieved functions who are not contented with the appellate authority’s resolution.

Published on


February 26, 2022