 bill no 71 of  2018 the betel growers (remunerative price and welfare) bill, 2018 by shri kunwar pushpendra singh chandel, mp a billto provide for payment of remunerative price to betel growers, insurance of betel crop free of cost, comprehensive welfare of betel growers and setting up of betel research centre and for matters connected therewithbe it enacted by the parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of  india as follows:—1  (1) this act may be called the betel growers (remunerative price and welfare) act, 2018short title, extent and commencement5(2) it extends to the whole of indiadefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "betel" means the leaf of a plant grown in south and south east asia andchewed as mild stimulant;(b) "betel grower" means a person who cultivates betel;5(c) "centre" means betel research centre established under section 3;(d) "fund" means betel growers welfare fund constituted under section 7; and (e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this actbetel research centre3 (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, establisha centre to be known as betel research centre to study, research and suggest measures to increase the productivity and quality of betel farming in the country10(2) the headquarters of the centre shall be at mahoba district in the state ofuttar pradesh and the centre may, with the previous approval of the central government, establish branches of the centre in different parts of the country15(3) the centre shall consist of such number of experts, officers and employees to beappointed by the central government in such manner as may be prescribed(4) the salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of experts,officers and employees of the centre shall be such as may be prescribed(5) the centre shall be operated by such rules as may be prescribedprocurement of betel crop204 the central government shall procure the entire betel crop from the betel growersin the country through such agency and in such manner as may be prescribed5 the central government shall after considering the following, determine theremunerative price of betel every year—fixation of remunerative price of betel(a) expenditure on construction of structures including bajra, mandap for betelfarming;25(b) increase in the price of pesticides, fertilisers and other inputs; (c) total investment of betel growers; and (d) such other factors as may be prescribedinsurance306 the entire betel produced by the betel growers shall be compulsorily insured freeof cost by the central government against natural calamities, fall in the productivity of betel, fall in the price of betel and such other eventualities as may be prescribedbetel growers welfare fund7 (1) the central government shall constitute a fund to be known as the betelgrowers' welfare fund for carrying out the purposes of this act(2) the central government and the state government shall contribute to the fund in such ratio as may be prescribed358 the fund shall be used for the following purposes, namely:—utilisation of fund(a) to provide financial assistance to betel growers for the expenditure onconstruction of structures like bajra, mandap for the betel farming, loss to crop due to pesticides, fertilisers, storm, excessive rain, hailstorming, flood, drought or in condition of loss of productivity of betel;40(b) for the payment of compensation to the next kin of betel growers in the eventof their death;(c) to provide free medical services to betel growers and their families; (d) to provide assistance to betel growers in the event of disability; and (e) for such other purposes as may be prescribedpower to make rules9 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act510(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made beforeeach house of parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or successive sessions aforesaid both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement  of  objects  and  reasonsagriculture is the main source of income in the bundelkhand region of the countrysince many decades, condition of agriculture economy is fragile in bundelkhand region due to climate change and people are forced to migrate from this region due to unavailability of other employment alternative there is a need to upgrade the agricultural technology, agriculture infrastructure development, investment, easy loan availability and simple agriculture insurance scheme in bundelkhand with the continuous and integrated efforts, the condition of agriculture may be improved in bundelkhandbetel farming is being done in the mahoba district of bundelkhand region and also in various parts of the country since ancient times mahoba betel is famous in the world betel farming in fully controlled manner is very expensive but it creates employment opportunities at very large scale in mahoba, betel farming is done in a co-operative manner which is done by five to ten families collectively and surprisingly, this is very successful in this region since long time the structures like bajra and mandap are constructed to control the humidity and temperature for betel farming they are rare examples of scientific and technical application of indian traditional agriculture which has been used since 2000 years and probably this is the most revolutionary application in india after the use of iron in agriculturehowever, betel, which has religious, cultural, medicinal and economic significance, is fighting for its existence today, particularly in bundelkhand region on one hand, new research is required for protection of betel farming, on the other hand, special provisions are very much necessary for the welfare of betel growersthis bill, therefore, seeks to provide for improvement in betel production methods through new research and special provisions for the welfare of betel growershence this billnew delhi;kunwar pushpendra singh chandeljanuary 22, 2018 financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for establishment of research centre to study, research and suggest measures to increase the productivity and quality of betel farming clause 4 provides for procurement of betel from betel growers by an agency to be set up by the central government and fixation of remunerative prices for betel by the central government clause 6 provides for compulsory free insurance by the central government of betel against natural calamities clause 7 provides for constitution of a betel growers welfare fund to which the central government and the state governments shall contribute clause 8 provides for contribution of the central government and the state government to the betel growers welfare fundthe bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore will be involved per annuma non-recurring annual expenditure of about rupees fifty crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 9 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character lok   sabha———— a billto provide for payment of remunerative price to betel growers, insurance of betel crop free of cost, comprehensive welfare of betel growers and setting up of betel research centre and for matters connected therewith————(shri kunwar pushpendra singh chandel, mp)mgipmrnd—4168ls(s3)—28-02-2018