Farmers call off proposed protest after Punjab CM accepts most demands

Several farmer bodies on Tuesday decided to call off their proposed agitation on August 3 after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accepted most of their demands, including clearing pending payments of sugarcane farmers.

Mann held a four-hour-long meeting with farmer leaders led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) president Jagjit Singh Dallewal here on Tuesday evening.

Farmers had earlier announced to block national highways at three places in Majha, Malwa and Doaba regions on August 3 in the state in case the state government failed to address their issues, including non-payment of sugarcane dues.

After the meeting, CM Mann said, I am committed to farmers' welfare, and during my tenure they won't have to stage protests for their genuine demands.

Mann said sugarcane dues stand at Rs 195.60 crore and out of which Rs 100 crore will be paid by August 15 and the remaining Rs 95.60 crore will be cleared by September 7.

He further said the pending payment of government and cooperative sugar mills will be cleared by September 7.

Mann said the private sugar mills, except Phagwara sugar mill, have assured that they will pay arrears by September 7.

The Phagwara sugar mill owed Rs 72 crore to farmers and a sum of Rs 20 crore would be realized after auctioning its land.

Mann said the state government will withdraw all the cases registered against farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic, or for agitation and stubble burning.

We have decided to cancel the FIRs registered against farmers, be it during Covid-19 pandemic, for stubble burning or agitation, said Mann.

Regarding cases registered by Railway Police Force against farmers during their agitation, Mann said he will take up this matter with the government of India.

The CM further said the state government is also finding ways and means to evolve a viable mechanism for ensuring that farmers do not adopt the practice of stubble burning by duly incentivising them.

He said the process of verification of direct seeding of rice is going on and farmers will be given the due amount soon.

Mann said the state government was making all out efforts to make agriculture a profitable venture by bringing out farmers out of the wheat-paddy cycle.

He said the process of giving jobs to the family members of farmers who lost their lives during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws is already going on, adding that all the remaining families of farmers will also be handed over compensation soon.