The Karnataka Assembly has tabled a bill to roll back amendments made by the previous BJP government to the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) Act. The bill, titled The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aims to scrap the previous amendments and reinstate the original provisions of the act.
According to the bill, allowing farmers to trade their produce outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yards has led to exploitation by traders, as there is no regulatory mechanism in place to control this exploitation. Despite being allowed to trade outside the APMC yards, farmers have not seen an increase in their produce prices or income. Additionally, the income of the APMC has significantly decreased due to the trade taking place outside the market yards.
The bill argues that farmers benefit from competitive and fair prices for their produce when traded under the Unified Market Platform in APMCs. Without an online trading system for trade outside the market yards, farmers are unable to secure fair and competitive prices for their produce. Furthermore, there is no mechanism for resolving disputes that occur outside the market yards when farmers trade their produce.
The amendments made by the previous government have also had an impact on the APMC’s revolving fund. The bill states that the APMC’s role has been limited to market yards, leading to a 50% decrease in contributions to the revolving fund, from ₹125 crore to ₹60 crore.
In addition to the agricultural bill, several other bills were tabled in the Karnataka Assembly. The Karnataka State Road Safety Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aims to include the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike under the local authority and establish means of resource mobilization for the Karnataka State Road Safety Fund. The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to increase the amount of construction works undertaken by SCs and STs, from ₹50 lakh to ₹one crore. The Karnataka Legislature (Prevention of Disqualification) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, proposes the creation of the office of the Legal Advisor to the Chief Minister. The Karnataka Fire Force (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aims to introduce provisions for obtaining a no-objection certificate from the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services Department for constructing high-rise buildings. Finally, the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, is intended to address difficulties in the levy and collection of tax on intra-state supply of goods or services by the State government.
Overall, these bills represent the government’s efforts to address various issues and make necessary amendments to existing laws in Karnataka. The legislative assembly will now review and deliberate on these bills before making any decisions.
