Patiala: Members of the Indian Farmers' Association (IFA) on Thursday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court, seeking directions to the Union government for prompt implementation of the M S Swaminathan Commission report.
In October 2017, the apex court dismissed the petition saying it was a policy matter and it could not direct the Parliament to implement recommendations made by the commission.
IFA president Satnam Singh Behru said the association set up a panel of 10 SC lawyers representing farmers to ensure they got a fair deal in fixing of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Behru said the Swaminathan panel's recommendations had revived the hopes of farmers for finding a lasting solution to their plight.
Constituted during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Swaminathan commission recommended ways to find a practical solution to the longstanding agrarian crisis. Recommendations included measures to prevent farmers' suicides and achieve faster and more inclusive growth.
In October 2017, a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lakur dismissed the PIL filed by IFA, which had moved the petition on behalf of affiliated farmers' outfits from across the country in 2011. The Swaminathan Commission had given its fifth and last recommendation report to the Union government in 2006.
Behru said despite the urgency to resolve issues faced by farmers, there is unnecessary delay in finding a solution even though the number of farmer suicides across the country has risen steadily over the last few years. He said the association asked its team of legal experts to prepare a fresh draft, which was placed before the apex court for consideration on Thursday.
