Amid Farmers' Protest, Swaminathan Commission Member Backs Law On MSP

On a day that farmers began their 'Delhi Chalo' march to push for their demands, including legislation guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops, a member of the Swaminathan Commission has told NDTV that such a law is the need of the hour. 

Speaking to NDTV on Tuesday, Dr RB Singh, a Padma Bhushan awardee and member of the Swaminathan Commission, said, "For farmers to get the right price for their crops, it is necessary to make a new law on MSP in the country to properly implement the recommendations of the commission."

Dr Singh pointed out that the panel had recommended that MSP should be fixed at a level which is at least 50% higher than the cost of production of any crop. "But this system has not been implemented in a uniform manner in the country," he said.

Nearly 1 lakh farmers, who have the support of about 200 farmer unions, began marching towards Delhi on Tuesday. Among the key demands of the protesting farmers are a legal guarantee for MSP -  which will shield them from the vagaries of the market - loan waivers, and implementation of other Swaminathan Commission recommendations. 

The Swaminathan Commission was set up in 2004 and submitted five reports, with the last one in October 2006. Last week, the government had announced the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, for the head of the commission, Dr MS Swaminathan.

Tear gas shells were fired and water cannons were used against farmers who gathered at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, shortly after they began their march at noon. Smoke canisters were also dropped from drones and videos showed farmers jumping across concrete barriers erected to prevent their passage, and shoving barricades aside. 

Police in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have been preparing for the protest for the past few days and many crossing points into the national capital have been shut, leading to traffic chaos at the borders and massive jams. 

The farmers had called off their mega protest in 2021 after the government had announced that it would repeal three contentious farm laws and gave an assurance that it would look into the legal demand for MSP.