Supreme Court Stays Implementation of 3 Farm Laws

Supreme Court stays implementation of 3 farm laws

The Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the Centre’s three contentious farm laws until further orders, saying it would constitute a committee to end the stalemate between the government and the protesting farmers’ unions.

What are those three Farm Laws?

1. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020,
2. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020,
3. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 is an act of the Indian Government that permits intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce beyond the physical premises of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market yards (mandis) and other markets notified under state APMC Acts.

This Act, along with the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, was promulgated by the Union Cabinet on 5 June 2020. The Lok Sabha approved the bills on 17 September 2020, and Rajya Sabha on 20 September 2020.

The Act bypasses the Agricultural Produce Market Committee altogether, creating a separate structure of trading. Before the Act, state governments levied taxes for agricultural produce that was bought outside the designated APMC mandi; this Act prohibits this and creates an incentive for buyers to purchase products outside the regulated APMC mandi.

The new Bills give the impression that farmers had unnecessary restrictions to trade freely for agricultural products, and mandis were the designated space for all transactions. Accordingly, the amendment of the APMC Act, and the ensuing political uproar, are mostly significant for farmers in Punjab and Haryana, where mandis are the central place of transaction.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 is an act of the Indian Government that creates a national framework for contract farming through an agreement between a farmer and a buyer before the production or rearing of any farm produces.

This Act, along with the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, was promulgated by the Union Cabinet on 5 June 2020.

The Government asserts that the Act helps protect farmers engaging with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce by a mutually-agreed lucrative price framework fairly and transparently through a contract.

The Act was met with wide criticism from farmers all over the country (particularly Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan) mainly under the argument that, without any regulation, farmer's interests will be overlooked.

Since the Appellate Authority was the highest level of appeal for the farmer against any private entity, the farmer is effectively prevented from moving the Court.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

The Essential Commodities Act (ECA) is an act of the Parliament of India that was established to ensure the delivery of certain commodities or products, the supply of which, if obstructed due to hoarding or black marketing, would affect the normal life of the people.

This includes foodstuff, drugs, fuel (petroleum products) etc. This act was modified by the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 as part of the 2020 Indian farm reforms.

The ECA was enacted in 1955 and has since been used by the Government to regulate the production, supply, and distribution of a whole host of commodities that it declares ‘essential’ to make them available to consumers at fair prices.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance was promulgated on 5 June 2020. The Lok Sabha passed the ordinance to amend Essential Commodities Act on 15 September 2020, and Rajya Sabha passed it on 22 September 2020.