– Harsh laws will promote harassment, extortion and corruption – Dr Dipen Agrawal
– Pesticide industry opposes Mahadraft bill on aid to farmers – CAMIT
Nagpur :-A delegation of leading associations of manufacturers and formulators of agrochemical led by Dr Dipen Agrawal, President of Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry & Trade (CAMIT) called upon Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and upraised him with the adverse effect of the government’s proposed Bill to provide compensation to farmers for incurring financial losses due to the use of adulterated and spurious seeds, insecticides and fertilisers. The delegation consisted of Sanjiv Lal, Managing Director of Rallis India Ltd. and Vice Chairman of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Agrochemical Committee, Parikshit Mundhra, Managing Director of Willowood Chemicals Ltd. and Chairman of Agro Chem Federation of India (ACFI), Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director of Insecticides India Ltd., and Vice Chairman of Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI), Nirmala Pathrawal, Executive Director of Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) and Durgesh Chandra, Secretary General of CropLife India.
At the outset delegation welcomed Dy. Chief Minister with floral bouquet and submitted a memorandum saying that the proposed bill will lead to unfair claims and put genuine manufacturers and dealers, to excessive checks and scrutiny.
Dr Dipen Agrawal, President of CAMIT, said that considering the incidents of losses to farmers due to use of adulterated insecticides, seeds and fertilisers the State government has introduced the draft Bill to make provisions for special compensation to farmers. He argued that if the Bill is enacted into law and implemented it will become a tool in the hands of spurious farmers and end-users of insecticides and pesticides for making easy money. They would tend to claim compensation from manufacturers without even following standard agricultural practices and the guidelines for the safe and judicious use of pesticides. The business community is on same foot with government and believe that the intention to introduce the proposed Act is to control spurious and substandard suppliers of agriculture inputs (agrochemicals), however inadvertently the proposed Bill will cause grave and undue harassment to all genuine manufacturers, marketers, distributors and dealers of seeds, fertilizers by subjecting them to checks and analysis, added Dr Agrawal.
Parikshit Mundhra, Chairman of ACFI, said that the proposed Farmers Compensation Bill appears to have been made on an incorrect presumption that there is no provision in law to compensate farmers for the loss caused to them due to adulterated, non-standard or misbranded seeds, fertilizers or insecticides. He highlighted that farmers being the consumers of seeds, insecticides and fertilizers are covered under the Consumer Protection Act, which already provides for grant of compensation to farmers for loss caused to them due to use of adulterated, non-standard or misbranded agriculture inputs. In fact, several consumer cases filed by farmers against manufacturers of seeds, fertilizers or insecticides are already pending before various Consumer Forums. The proposed Bill therefore, creates a parallel procedure for grant of compensation to farmers which is contrary to the existing procedure laid down under the Central Legislation i.e. the Consumer Protection Act, he added.
Sanjiv Lal, Vice Chairman of FICCI’s Agrochemical Committee informed Dy CM, that proposed amendments seek to indiscriminately make many offences under the Seeds Act, 1966, Insecticides Act, 1968 as well as the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 cognizable and non-bailable, irrespective of gravity of the offence. Such provisions, if implemented, would create immense fear of unfair prosecution among the genuine manufacturers and authorized distributors who have been working hard since last several decades to provide quality seeds, fertilizers and insecticides to farmers. The proposed Act puts all onus on manufacturer of agrochemicals, but fails to account for situations where the loss can rise due to factors beyond the control of the manufacturer.
Rajesh Agarwal, Vice Chairman of CCFI, highlighted that the proposed Bill gives unlimited powers to the Police to use the amended provisions to unleash unsurmountable harassment to genuine manufacturers and sellers of pesticides in the State of Maharashtra. Such draconian powers to the Police proliferate high handedness and corruption in the State besides abuse of powers as Police is ill-equipped to deal with the technicalities involved in the agrochemical industry. This will create major hurdles in conducting business as officers of company would not be willing to be nominated as the ‘responsible person’ given the looming threat of arrest and detention in Police custody in the case of even a minor infraction. Genuine manufacturers and authorized Distributors would be unable to carry on business in Maharashtra leading to scarcity of critical agrochemical products in the State. Instead of protecting farmers the proposed Bill will adversely affect crop yield, leave the farmers unprotected from pests and weeds, and cause a big blow to the livelihood of farmers and their families besides the dealers and their employees.
Nirmala Pathrawal, Executive Director of CCFI, the Seeds Act, 1966 and Insecticides Act, 1968, are special statutes enacted by the Union government under Article 246 read with Article 248 and the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. He submitted that since the regulation of Seeds and Insecticides are not covered under the State List (List-Il) or by the Concurrent List (List-Ill) enumerated under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, the State government lacks the requisite jurisdiction to amend the said taws.
Durgesh Chandra, Secretary General of CropLife India said that seeds, insecticides, fertilizers etc., are all properly tested and manufactures are required to maintain prescribed quality standards. Any failure to meet those standards are required to be established by testing them through the scientific laboratories as prescribed under the relevant Seed, Insecticides and Fertilizer laws but not otherwise. The proposed blanket provision under the Bill to make the offences as cognizable and non-bailable without following the prescribed process of law is against the principles of natural justice. He further pointed out that, cognizable and non-bailable offences are for heinous crimes like murder, rape, kidnapping etc., where there is a need to act immediately so as to protect the society at large pending detailed investigation.
After patiently hearing the delegates Dy. Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis said that his government is committed to the mission and vision of our beloved Prime Minister, Narendra Modi for ensuring ease of doing business, however at the same time it is the duty of his government to protect the farmers from illegal/fly-by-night manufacturers/sellers of seeds, insecticides and fertilizers. He requested the delegation to formulate ways and means to identify and report such spurious elements brewing within the agrochemical sector. Dy. CM assured the delegation to constitute a committee for detailed study of the submissions and to recommend solution in the best interest of all stakeholders.
Dr Dipen Agrawal expressed gratitude towards Dy. Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis for the patient fearing and assurance to look in to the matter to maintain ease of doing business in the state.
