 bill no 15  of  2013 the  jute  growers  (remunerative  price  and welfare)  bill,  2013 by dr kakoli ghosh dastidar, mp a billto provide for payment of remunerative price for raw jute to the jute growers, insurance of jute crop free of cost and for overall welfare of jute growers and for matters connected therewithbe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fourth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the jute growers (remunerative price and welfare) act,2013short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of indiadefinitions2  in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "fund" means the jute growers welfare fund constituted under section 5; (b) "jute grower" means any person who cultivates jute and obtains fibre therefrom; and(c) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act3 (1) the central government shall procure the entire jute crop fibre from jute growers through such agency as may be prescribed5procurement of raw jute and fixation of its remunerative price(2) the central government shall fix remunerative price of raw jute every year after taking into consideration—(a) increase in the price of jute seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs; (b) total investment made by the jute growers; and (c) such other factors, as may be prescribed10insurance4 the entire jute produced by the jute growers shall be compulsorily insured free of cost by the central government against natural calamities, fall in the yield of jute, fall in the price of jute and such other eventualities as may be prescribed15jute growers welfare fund5 (1) the central government shall constitute a fund to be known as the jute growers welfare fund(2) the central government and the state governments concerned shall contribute to the fund in such ratio as may be prescribed6 the fund shall be utilized,—utilisation of the fund20(a) to provide financial assistance to jute growers for purchasing jute seeds, pesticides and fertilizers and in cases of low yields of jute or loss of their crops due to rains, storms, floods, hailstorms or drought;(b) to pay compensation to the next of kin of jute growers in the event of their death;(c) to provide free health facilities to jute growers and their families; (d) to provide assistance to the jute growers in the event of disability; and25(e) for such other purposes as may be prescribed by the central governmentpower to makerules7  (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purpose of this act30 35(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each 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 the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the 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  reasonsjute fibre, also known as golden fibre, used to hold a glorious position in our countryjute is one of the main commercial crops of our country jute fibre as an industrial product is used to prepare bio-degradable, eco-friendly cheap bags but of late, jute growers in the country are facing problems as they are not getting remunerative price for their produce jute cultivation is turning out to be a non-profitable venture for the farmers due to increase in the prices of jute seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs due to high investment involved in the cultivation of jute, farmers have to go for loans and on account of being unable to repay the loans, they are living under great distress being a cash crop, insurance facility is also not available to the jute farmers growing use of synthetic fibre is adding to the woes of jute growersthe condition of jute growers in the leading jute producing states of west bengal and bihar is pitiable farmers of these states are getting into debt trap and in many cases, their financial condition is compelling them to take the extreme step of committing suicidetherefore, it is the responsibility of the central government to fix the remunerative price of jute; provide for free and compulsory insurance of jute crops; and constitute a jute growers welfare fund to meet various needs of jute growershence this billnew delhi;kakoli  ghosh  dastidardecember 17, 2012 financial  memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for procurement of entire jute produced in the country and also fixation of remunerative price of jute by the central government clause 4 provides for compulsory insurance of jute crop free of cost against natural calamities, fall in the yield of jute and such other eventualities clause 5 provides for the constitution of a jute growers welfare fund the bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about rupees three thousand crore may be involved per annum from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of about rupees one thousand crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 7 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————— a billto provide for payment of remunerative price for raw jute to the jute growers, insurance ofjute crop free of cost and for overall welfare of jute growers and for matters connectedtherewith—————(dr kakoli ghosh dastidar, mp)