Farmers in Punjab call off protest after Mann govt accepts their core demands

Chandigarh: After a written assurance from the Bhagwant Mann government accepting the core demands of the agitating farmer unions, farmers protesting at the Chandigarh-Mohali border called off their stir on Monday evening.

The formal written assurance was handed over to the farmer representatives by Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

As per the written agreement, the Punjab government will convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha within a month to pass resolutions on key issues and forward them to the Centre. These include seeking reconsideration of decades-old unconstitutional water-sharing agreements, repeal of Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act to restore the State’s riparian rights, annulment of the Dam Safety Act and withdrawal of the Seed Bill, 2025.

Reaffirming the Bhagwant government’s commitment to the welfare of farmers, Agriculture Minister Khudian said that the government believes in resolving issues through dialogue and mutual understanding. “The Bhagwant Mann Government is fully committed to the welfare of our annadatas. We believe in resolving issues through dialogue and have accepted their genuine demands with full transparency in writing,” he said.

To ease the financial burden on farmers, the Minister also announced that a One-Time Settlement (OTS) policy will be formulated for outstanding loans, particularly those availed from cooperative banks, including the Punjab State Cooperative Bank and cooperative societies.

“A committee will be constituted in consultation with all political parties to formulate the OTS policy, which will be instrumental in clearing the debt burden of farmers,” he said. On the issue of sugarcane pricing, Minister Khudian asserted that Punjab will continue to provide the highest sugarcane price in the country. He said directions had been issued to put up the file for fixing the sugarcane price on Monday itself, ensuring that the process is initiated without delay.

The Minister further said that the government will ensure time-bound clearance of pending dues of farmers from private sugar mills. “The ‘One Window, One Payment’ system, presently applicable to cooperative mills, will be extended to private mills as well,” he said.

For the remaining demands of the farmer unions, Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian assured that a joint committee comprising senior officers of the Punjab Government and representatives nominated by the farmer unions will be constituted. The committee will examine the outstanding matters and work towards resolving them expeditiously.

IANS