 bill no 133 of 2010 the banana growers (protection and welfare ) bill, 2010 byshri at nana patil, mp a billto provide for protection and welfare of banana growers, payment of remunerative price to them and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-first year of  the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the banana growers (protection and welfare)  act, 2010 (2) it extends to the whole of indiashort title, extent and commencement definitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "authority" means banana export and processing development authority established under section 8;(b) "banana grower" means any person who cultivates banana; (c) "fund" means the banana growers protection fund constituted under section 6; and(d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act53  (1) it shall be the duty of the central government to procure the banana crop produced in the country through such agency, as it may deem fitprocurement of banana and fixation of remunerative price(2) the central government shall fix remunerative price of banana every year after taking into consideration—(i) the increase in the price of pesticides, fertilizers and other inputs;10(ii) total investment of the banana growers; and (iii) such other factors as may be prescribedexport of surplus banana4 the central government shall take all necessary steps to export the surplus banana produced during a year in the countrycompulsory insurance155 the entire banana crop produced by the banana growers shall be compulsorily insured free of cost by the central government against natural calamities, fall in the yield of banana, fall in the prices of banana and such other eventualities as may be prescribed6 (1) the central government shall set up a fund to be known as the banana growers protection fund with a view to safeguard the interests of the banana growersbanana growers protection fund20(2) the central government and the state governments shall contribute to the fund in  such ratio as may be prescribedutilization of the fund7 the banana growers protection fund shall be used for the following purposes, namely:—(a) to provide financial assistance to banana growers—(i) for purchasing fine quality seeds, pesticides and fertilizers; and25(ii) in case of low yields of bananas or loss of their crops due to rains, storms, floods, hailstorms and drought; (b) to provide compensation in the event of death or accident of banana growers or labourers engaged in the production of bananas and other related work;(c) to pay life insurance  premium on behalf of the banana growers; (d) to provide free health facilities to banana growers and their families; and30(e) such other purposes as may be prescribed by the central government8 (1) the central government shall, by notification, establish an authority to be known as the banana export and processing development authority for promoting the export and processing of bananaauthority(2) the head office of the authority shall be at jalgaon in the state of maharashtra35(3) the banana export and processing development authority shall consist of the following:—40(i) a chairperson, who shall be a person having knowledge and not less than fifteen years of experience in the agricultural sector, to be appointed by the central government;(ii) two members, who shall be persons having not less than fifteen years experience of research in banana processing industry, to be appointed by the central government(4) the chairperson and the members of the authority shall be appointed for a period of three years or till they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier5(5) the salary and allowances payable to, and other  terms and conditions of the service of chairperson and the members of the authority shall be such as may be prescribed by the central government(6) the central government shall provide to the authority such officers and staff as it deems necessary for the efficient functioning of the authority9 the authority shall perform the following functions:—functions of the authority10(a) disseminate information among banana growers about reasonably priced seeds, fertilizers and pesticides needed for growing bananas;(b) recommend  to the central government the building of cold storages atstrategic places for the storage of bananas;(c) provide financial assistance to banana growers for availing cold storagefacility;15(d) aid and encourage research in banana processing industry and set up researchinstitutes in this regard;(e) recommend to the central government the measures for increasing banana export and for revitalizing banana processing industry20power to remove difficulty10 if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, the central government may, by order published in the official gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act as may appear  it to be necessary or expedient for removing  the difficulty:provided that no such order shall be made under this section after the expiry of two years from the commencement of this act2511 the provisions of this act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of theprovisions of any other law for the time being in forceact not to be in derogation of other laws power to make rules12 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act30 35(2) every rule made under this section 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  reasonsbanana is a commercial crop it is cultivated in many states of the country the banana growers are facing problems as they are not getting remunerative price of their produce to grow their crop, they are forced to take loans the banana growers are in distress as the prices of banana crops are not increasing in proportion to those of seeds, fertilizers and pesticidesas banana is a highly perishable crop, the banana growers have to sell their produce within a short period they do not have the technology to preserve the bananas for a long duration in the absence of any cold storage facility, the banana growers are forced to sell off their produce at a throw-away prices the banana growers have to resort to distress sale as there is no institutional mechanism on the part of the government to ensure that banana growers get remunerative price of their produce as a result, the banana growers are getting trapped in debt by encouraging banana processing industry, avenues of employment generation can be ensured along with the prosperity of the banana growersgovernment should provide remunerative price and also prompt relief to banana growers in the event of natural calamities like storm, heavy rains, hailstorm and floods so that banana growers can prosper setting up of a fund for banana growers and provision of insurance scheme for them will certainly prove beneficial to them therefore, there is an urgent need to enact a law which ensures government assistance for the protection and welfare of the banana growers in the countryhence this billnew delhi;at nana  patiloctober 21, 2010 financial  memorandumclause 5 of the bill provides for compulsory insurance of banana crop clause 6provides for the setting up of banana growers protection fund clause 8 provides for the setting up of a banana export and processing development authority the bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve a recurring annual expenditure of rupees five hundred crorea non-recurring expenditure of about rupees fifty crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 12 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 protection and welfare of banana growers, payment of remunerative price to them and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————(shri at nana patil, mp)gmgipmrnd—4974ls(s3)—16-11-2010