Leaders of 13 Haryana farmer outfits meet state government officials; raise 33 demands, including legal guarantee on MSP for crops

Chandigarh, July 21

A delegation of Haryana farmers met state government officials here on Sunday and gave a 33-point letter listing their demands, including a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The delegation comprised leaders of 13 farmer outfits and it met the officials under the banner of the Haryana unit of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).

After a seven-hour-long meeting, farmer leaders said they gave a 33-point letter that listed their demands but the issue of opening the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border was not part of the agenda of the Sunday talks.

Farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between the two states since February 13 when their march to Delhi over their demands was stopped by security forces.

Rajesh Khullar, the chief principal secretary to the Haryana chief minister, and other senior officials were present at the meeting with the delegation that among its members had Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders Rattan Mann, Joginder Nain and Balbir Singh.

Talking to reporters, Mann said various outfits from Haryana under the banner of SKM-Haryana met the government representatives.

Thirty-three demands were raised during the meeting, he said and added that talks were held in a “cordial atmosphere”.

Besides the legal guarantee on MSP, the demands also include paying farmers their pending crop damage compensation and outstanding insurance claims, and “saving” farmers from losses from the pink bollworm pest attack on cotton crops.

Mann said all these issues were thoroughly discussed.

“Khullar sahab will give a report to the state government, which will then take a decision on our demands,” he said.

To a question, Mann said the issue pertaining to opening the Shambhu border was not a part of the agenda for today’s talks.

Thirteen outfits under the banner of SKM-Haryana were present in the meeting, he said.

“We are expecting a response from the government’s side on our demands over the next two-to-three weeks after which we will decide our future course of action,” he said.

Farmers of Haryana are holding demonstrations, including dharnas, in many districts of the state for many months to press the government to fulfill their demands, the farmer leaders said.

They are also demanding that the facility to purchase crops through online registration be scrapped, they be paid for their crops within the stipulated limit, simplification of the process to compensate farmers for crop loss due to natural disasters.

The 33-point letter also stated that the compensation for Kharif 2023 flood-affected districts and other waterlogged places has not been fully distributed and this should be completed immediately.