 the farmers (right to assured minimum price for agricultural produce) bill, 2014 byshri devji m patel, mp——————arrangement of clauses——————chapter i preliminary clauses1 short title, extent and commencement 2 definitions chapter ii assured income to farmers3 central government to declare assured minimum price of agricultural produce 4 establishment of procurement centres 5 declaration of an area as an area affected by natural calamities 6 scheme for providing employment to farmers in affected areas 7 farmers' right to claim compensation 8 payment of insurance amount to farmers 9 farmer to avail loan from procurement centre against agricultural produce chapter iii national farmers' commission10 establishment of the national commission 11 term and conditions of the chairperson and members of the national commission 12 removal of the chairperson and members of the national commission 13 vacancies, etc not to invalidate proceedings of the national commission 14 officers and staff of the national commission 15 functions of the national commission 16 functioning of the national commission chapter iv state farmers' commission17 establishment of the state commission 18 conditions of service and terms of office of the chairperson and members of the statecommission19 removal of the chairperson and the members of the state commission 20 officers and staff for the state commission clauses21 functions of the state commission 22 functioning of the state commission 23 state government to provide necessary staff and technical assistance to the statecommission chapter v farmers' court24 farmers' court 25 penalty and punishment chapter vi national fund for farmers26 national fund for farmers 27 central government to ensure proper utilization and management of the fund chapter vii miscellaneous28 provision of information on matters covered under this act29 central government to bear expenditure 30 central government to provide financial assistance to state governments 31 power to remove difficulties 32 protection of action taken in good faith 33 overriding effect of the act34 act to be in addition to other laws 35 power to give directions 36 power to amend schedule 37 power to make rules 38 power of the state government to make rules schedule bill no 85 of  2014 the farmers (right to assured minimum price for agricultural produce) bill, 2014 by shri devji m patel, mp a billto provide assured minimum price of agricultural produce to farmers by establishing farmers' commissions at national and state levels and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fifth year of the republic of india as follows:— chapter i preliminarydefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "agricultural produce" means agricultural produce specified in the schedule to this act;(b) "assured minimum price" means the price declared by the central government under section 3;5(c) "farmer" means a person who, in general, is engaged in producing agricultural produces or in their promotion either by self or by hired workers or otherwise but does not include a trader of agricultural produce;(d) "farmers' court" means the court established under section 24;(e) "fund" means the national fund for farmers constituted under section 26;10(f) "gram panchayat" means panchayat set up at the village level underarticle 243b of the constitution;(g) "in-charge" in relation to a procurement centre means a person appointed to oversee the functioning of procurement centres;1511 of 1948(h) "minimum wages" means the minimum wages prescribed for semi-skilled workers under the minimum wages act, 1948;(i) "national commission" means the national farmers' commission established under section 10;(j) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act;20(k) "procurement centre" means procurement centres set up under section 4 for purchase of agricultural produce on the basis of price declared under section 3; and(l) "state commission" means the state farmers' commission established under section 17 chapter ii assured income to farmers253 (1) the central government shall, at least fifteen days before the beginning of every sowing season, declare, by notification in the official gazette, an assured minimum price for every agricultural produce specified in the schedule to this actcentral government to declare assured price of agricultural produce(2) the declaration of assured minimum price under sub-section (1) shall be on the basis of recommendations made by the national commission:30provided that where the central government does not accept the recommendation of the national commission, it shall publish the reasons for not accepting the recommendations of the national commission in the official gazette before making a declaration under sub-section (1)35(3) the declaration made under sub-section (1) shall be given wide publicity by the central government4 (1) the central government shall, within six months of the coming into force of this act, establish a procurement centre in every district to facilitate procurement of agricultural produce of farmers at assured minimum priceestablishment of procurement centres40(2) the constitution, management and operation of the procurement centresestablished under sub-section (1) shall be such, as may be prescribed(3) it shall be the responsibility of every farmer to bring his agricultural produce forsale at the procurement centre45(4) the procurement centre shall purchase the agricultural produce brought by afarmer for sale at the assured minimum price and make payment to the farmer without any delay(5) notwithstanding anything in sub-section (4), the procurement centre may refuse to purchase the agricultural produce brought by a farmer if the quantum of impurities in the agricultural produce is more than the prescribed limit:5provided that where a farmer does not agree with the decision regarding impurities inthe agricultural produce, the in-charge of the procurement centre shall, in the presence of two persons, other than the persons employed at the procurement centre, take a sample of the agricultural produce in such manner, as may be prescribed and seal the sample properly and forward it, after recording thereon the contention of the concerned farmer, to the farmers' court10(6) the farmers' court shall, on receipt of the sample, satisfy itself about the safety ofthe seal and the statements of the farmer and the in-charge concerned of the procurement centre in such manner, as may be prescribed, and thereafter, take a decision either on his own or with the assistance of a specialist15(7) where the sample is not found damaged or does not contain impurities more than the prescribed limit, the farmers' court shall direct the in-charge of the procurement centre to immediately purchase the agricultural produce(8) where the in-charge of a procurement centre, in spite of a direction under subsection (7), refuses to purchase the agricultural produce, he shall pay rupees ten thousand as compensation to the farmer205 (1) where the national commission recommends any area to be declared as an areaaffected by natural calamity or a deficient area, the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, declare such area to be an affected areadeclaration of an area as an area affected by natural calamities(2) where the central government does not declare an area to be an affected area on the recommendation of the national commission, it shall publish the reasons for not accepting the recommendation in the official gazette256 (1) the central government shall, within six months of the coming into force of this act, prepare a scheme for providing suitable employment to farmers in the affected areas:scheme for providing employment to farmers in affected areas30provided that where a centrally-sponsored scheme is already being implemented in anaffected area, the farmers of that area shall be provided employment under that scheme(2) every farmer of an affected area, who desires to get an employment under subsection (1), shall approach the nearest procurement centre for getting his name registered by the in-charge of the procurement centre for employment(3) the in-charge of the procurement centre after registering the name of a farmer shall provide him employment in such manner, as may be prescribed:35provided that where the in-charge of a procurement centre is unable to provide immediate employment to a farmer, he shall ask the farmer in writing to report after seven days:40provided further that where the employment is not provided to a farmer after a lapse of seven days, the in-charge of procurement centre shall pay to the farmer minimum wages for a period beginning from the day of registration of his name till he is provided employmentfarmers' right to claim compensation7 (1) every farmer whose crops are damaged due to natural calamities or by wild animals shall have the right to claim compensation for losses suffered by him in accordance with the provisions of this section45(2) the assessment of compensation under sub-section (1) shall be made on the following basis:—(i) average agricultural production per hectare of land during the last seven years;5(ii) the loss in respect of agricultural produce shall be assessed on the basis of assured minimum price declared for agricultural produce in the year in which the loss has occurred; and59 of 1988(iii) in case of loss suffered due to wild animals resulting in death, the compensation shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of the motor vehicles act, 198810(3) for the purpose of assessing loss suffered by a farmer, every state government shall, by notification, establish an assessment expert committee for every affected area(4) the assessment expert committee shall consist of such persons, from the affected area, as may be prescribed15(5) the committee shall make a report on the assessment of loss within three days of receiving information in this regard and submit it to the in-charge of the concerned procurement centre(6) the in-charge of the concerned procurement centre shall pay the amount of compensation as recommended in the report of the assessment expert committee20payment of insurance amount to farmers8 notwithstanding anything in section 7, a farmer who has suffered losses on account of natural calamity or due to wild animals, shall also be paid the insurance amount by the insurance company, which shall not be less than the assured minimum price which the agricultural produce would have fetched to him9 (1) notwithstanding anything in this act, a farmer may avail loan from a procurement centre against his agricultural produce25(2) the maximum amount of loan under sub-section (1) shall be calculated on the basis of prevailing assured minimum price of the agricultural producefarmer to avail loan from procurement centre against agricultural produce30(3) nothing in sub-section (2) shall prevent the farmer from selling his agricultural produce, against which the loan was taken, on a future date at an assured minimum price as existing on that future date to the procurement centre chapter iii national farmers' commission10 (1) within one year from the commencement of this act, the central government shall establish a commission to be known as the national farmers' commissionestablishment of national commission35(2) the national commission shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with the power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract and shall by the said name sue and be sued| (                                                       | 3   | ) the national commission shall consist of—        ||---------------------------------------------------------|-----|----------------------------------------------------|| —chairperson                                            |     |                                                    || 40                                                      |     |                                                    || (                                                       | i   | ) a renowned person having expert knowledge and    || practical experience in the field of agriculture, to be |     |                                                    || nominated by the central government;                    |     |                                                    || - members                                               |     |                                                    || 45                                                      |     |                                                    || (                                                       | ii  | ) five persons from amongst the chairpersons of    || the state farmer commissions to be nominated by the     |     |                                                    || central government on recommendation of the selection   |     |                                                    || committee constituted under sub-section (               | 4   | );                                                 || (                                                       | iii | ) five persons representing farmers' organisations |to be nominated by the central government in such manner as may be prescribed;- member5(iv) one person who shall be an eminent scholar inthe discipline of agriculture having taught the subject for at least ten years in a university, to be nominated by the central government in such manner as may be prescribed;- member(v) one person representing the union ministry ofagriculture, to be nominated by the central government;- member-secretary10(vi) one person having special knowledge or practicalexperience in the field of agriculture, marketing, agricultural economics or agricultural management, to be nominated by the central government(4) for the purpose of nominating members under clause (ii) of sub-section (3), there shall be constituted a selection committee consisting of—15(a) the prime minister who shall be the chairperson of the committee; (b) leader of opposition in lok sabha; and20(c) minister-in-charge of the union ministry of agricultureexplanation— for the removal of doubts, it is clarified that when nobody has been given recognition as a leader of opposition, the leader of the largest opposition party shall be deemed as the leader of opposition25(5) the head office of the national commission shall be at new delhi and it may establish its offices, with the prior approval of the central government, at such other places as it deems appropriate11 (1) the term of office of the chairperson and other members of the national commission shall be five years from the date on which they enter their office or till they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier:provided that the chairperson and other members of the national commission shall not be eligible for re-appointmentterm and conditions of the chairperson and members of the national commission30(2) the chairperson or any member of the national commission may, by writing under his hand addressed to the president, resign his office(3) the salary, allowances and other conditions of service of—(i) the chairperson shall be the same as that of the chief election commission of india;(ii) other members shall be such as may be prescribed:35provided that if the chairperson or a member is, at the time of his appointment, in receipt of pension (other than disability pension) in respect of any previous service under the government of india or under the government of a state, his salary in respect of service as the chairperson or, as the case may be, as a member, be reduced—(a) by the amount of that pension; and4045(b) if he has, before such appointment, received, in lieu of a portion of thepension due to him in respect of such previous service, the commuted value thereof, by the amount of that portion of the pension: provided that the salary, allowances and pension payable to, and other conditions ofservice of, the chairperson or a member shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment12 (1) the chairperson or any member shall be removed from his office by an order of the president on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity if, on a reference made to the supreme court by the president, the supreme court opines that the grounds for removal are justified50removal of the chairperson and members of the national commission(2) the president may suspend from office the chairperson or any member in respect of whom a reference has been made to the supreme court under sub-section (1) till the receipt of the opinion of the supreme court5(3) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the president may, by order, remove from office the chairperson or any member if the chairperson or such member, as the case may be,—(a) is adjudged an undischarged insolvent; or (b) is convicted of any serious crime; or10(c) engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or(d) is, in the opinion of the president, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body; or15(e) is concerned or interested in any contract or agreement made by or on behalfof the government of india or the government of a state or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising therefrom, otherwise than as a member, which is detrimental to his work in the national commission13 no act or proceeding of the national commission shall be invalid merely by reason of—20(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the national commission;orvacancies, etc not to invalidate proceedings of the national commission(b) any defect in the appointment of a person as the chairperson or a member; or (c) any irregularity in the procedure of the national commission not affecting the merits of the case 14 (1) the central government, shall appoint such number of officers and staff as are necessary for the efficient functioning of the national commission25officers and staff of the national commission(2) the salary and allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of the service of the officers and staff shall be such as may be prescribed15 the national commission shall perform the following functions—functions of the national commission30(a) recommend to the central government the assured minimum support pricefor every agricultural produce at least six weeks before beginning of every sowing season;(b) take into consideration the following in determining the assured minimum support price of an agricultural produce—(i) cost of inputs required for agricultural produce; and35(ii) that a farmer gets profit of not less than fifty per cent of the total investment made by him; (c) recommend to the central government an area affected by natural calamity be declared as an affected area after conducting such study of that area as it may consider necessary with a view to provide compensation to farmers;40(d) recommend to the central government in regard to measures required foragricultural growth, improving quality and quantity of produce and making agriculture a remunerative occupation;45(e) give wide publicity to the assured minimum price after its announcement bythe central government through such print and electronic media as it may deem appropriate;(f) disseminate information among the farmers about the market prices ofagricultural produce prevailing in various states and also in international markets;(g) encourage research in future demand of agricultural products in order toprovide inputs to the farmers to grow such produce as would fetch remunerative prices;(h) evaluate various measures for the development of agriculture and welfare offarmers;5(i) review the safeguards provided under the constitution to the farmers andrecommend to the central government suitable legislative measures to strengthen the existing safeguards by enactment of suitable laws by the parliament and suggesting appropriate laws to be enacted by the state legislatures;(j) issue guidelines regarding duties, functions and responsibilities of the statecommissions; and10(k) such other works as it may consider necessary for carrying out the purposesof this act or assigned to it by the central government15functioning of the national commission16 (1) the national commission shall observe such rules of procedure in the transaction of  its business, including the quorum at its meetings, as may be prescribed, and till such rules are framed, the national commission shall function under the directions of the chairperson(2) the national commission may, for effective discharge of its functions, constitute committee comprising of its members or members and other persons including experts20(3) the national commission may frame rules and regulations in regard to terms and conditions of service of any person, who is not a member of the national commission, in a committee constituted under sub-section (2), with the approval of the central government5 of 1908(4) while discharging its functions under the act, the national commission shall, have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the code of civil procedure, 1908 and, in particular, in respect of the following matters, namely:—25(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining himon oath;(b) discovery and production of any document; (c) asking for any public document or its copy from any court or office;(d) receiving evidence on affidavits;30(e) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; and (f) issuing commisions for the examination of witnesses or documents chapter iv state farmers' commission35establishment of the state commission17 (1) within one year from the commencement of the act, every state government shall establish a commission to be known as the state farmers' commission, by notification in the official gazette, to exercise the powers and perform functions assigned to it under the  act(2) the state commission shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall by the said name sue and be sued40(3) the state commission shall consist of—| -                                                                 | chairperson   | (                                                     | i   | ) a renowned person having expert knowledge and   ||-------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-----|---------------------------------------------------|| practical experience in the field of agriculture, to be nominated |               |                                                       |     |                                                   || by the state government;                                          |               |                                                       |     |                                                   || -                                                                 | members       |                                                       |     |                                                   || 45                                                                |               |                                                       |     |                                                   || (                                                                 | ii            | ) five persons representing farmers' organisations in |     |                                                   || the state, to be nominated by the state government in such        |               |                                                       |     |                                                   || manner as may be prescribed;                                      |               |                                                       |     |                                                   || -                                                                 | member        |                                                       |     |                                                   || (                                                                 | iii           | ) one person who shall be an eminent                  |     | scholar in the                                    |discipline of agriculture having taught the subject for at least ten years in a university, to be nominated by the state government on recommendation of the selection committee constituted under sub-section (4);| -                                                                  | member           ||--------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|| 5                                                                  |                  || (                                                                  | iv               || agriculture in the state, to be nominated by the state government; |                  || -                                                                  | member           || 10                                                                 |                  || (                                                                  | v                || research council or such other body engaged in agricultural        |                  || research on recommendation of the selection committee              |                  || constituted under sub-section (                                    | 4                || -                                                                  | member-secretary || experience in the field of agriculture, marketing, agricultural    |                  || economics or agricultural management to be nominated by            |                  || the state government                                              |                  || 15                                                                 |                  |(4) for the purpose of nominating members under clauses (iii) and (v) of sub-section(3), there shall be constituted a selection committee consisting of—(a) the chief minister who shall be the chairperson of the committee; (b) leader of opposition in state legislative assembly; and (c) minister-in-charge of the ministry/department of agriculture in the state20explanation—for the purpose of removal of doubts, it is clarified that when nobody has been given recognition as a leader of opposition, the leader of the largest opposition party shall be deemed as the leader of opposition(5) the head office of the state commission shall be located at the capital city of that state and it may establish its offices, with the prior approval of the state government, at such other places within the state, as it deems appropriate253018  (1) the chairperson or any other member shall hold office for a term not exceeding five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier :provided that the chairperson or any member may, by writing under his hand addressed to the governor, resign his office:conditions of service and terms of office of the chairperson and members of the state commission provided further that the chairperson and other members of the state commission shall not be eligible for re-appointment (2) the salary, allowances and other conditions of service of the chairperson and other members of the state commission shall be such as may be prescribed:35provided that if the chairperson or a member is, at the time of his appointment, in receipt of pension (other than disability pension) in respect of any previous service under the government of a state, his salary in respect of service as the chairperson or, as the case may be, as a member, be reduced—(a) by the amount of that pension; and4045(b) if he has, before such appointment, received, in lieu of a portion of the pension due to him in respect of such previous service, the commuted value thereof, by the amount of that portion of the pension: provided that the salary, allowances and pension payable to, and other conditions of service of, the chairperson or a member shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment19 (1) the chairperson or any member shall be removed from his office by an order of the governor on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, if, on a reference made to the high court by the governor, the high court opines that the grounds for removal are justifiedand the members of the state commission(2) the governor may suspend from office the chairperson or any member in respect of whom a reference has been made to the high court under sub-section (1) till the receipt of the opinion of the high court5(3) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the governor may, by order, remove from office the chairperson or any member if the chairperson or such member, as the case may be,—(a) is adjudged an undischarged insolvent; or (b) is convicted of any serious crime; or10(c) engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the dutiesof his office; or(d) is, in the opinion of the governor, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body; or15(e) is concerned or interested in any contract or agreement made by or on behalf of the government of india or the government of a state or participates in any way in the profit thereof or in any benefit or emolument arising therefrom, otherwise than as a member, which is detrimental to his work in the state commission 20 (1) the state government shall appoint such number of  officers and staff as are necessary for the efficient functioning of the state commissionofficers and staff for the state commission (2) the salary and allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of the service of the officers and staff of the state commission shall be such as may be prescribed2021 the state commission shall perform the following functions—functions of the state commission(a) forward the details of natural calamities occurring in various parts of the state to the national commission with a view to provide adequate compensation to farmers;25(b) recommend to the state government in regard to measures required foragricultural growth, improving quality and quantity of produce and making agriculture a remunerative occupation;(c) give wide publicity to the assured minimum price after its announcement by the central government through such print and electronic media, including media in the language spoken in the state as it may deem appropriate;30(d) disseminate information among the farmers about the market prices of agricultural produce prevailing in different parts of the state;(e) encourage research in future demand of agricultural products in order  to provide input to the farmers in the state to grow such produce as would fetch remunerative prices;35(f) evaluate various measures for the development of agriculture and welfare offarmers in the state;(g) review the safeguards provided under the constitution to the farmers andrecommend to the state government suitable legislative measures to strengthen the existing safeguards;40(h) issue guidelines for the state government regarding compilation andmaintenance of land records, all relevant agricultural data including data of sowing and harvest of crops; and45(i) such other works as it may consider necessary for carrying out the purposesof this act or assigned to it by the state government22 (1) the state commission shall observe such rules of procedure in the transaction of its business, including the quorum at its meetings, as may be prescribed, and till such rules are framed, the state commission shall function under the directions of the chairperson(2) the state commission may, for effective discharge of its functions, constitute committee comprising of its members or members and other persons including experts(3) the state commission may frame rules and regulations in regard to terms and conditions of service of any person, who is not a member of the commission, in a committee constituted under sub-section (2), with the approval of the state government55 of 1908(4) while discharging its functions under the act, the commission shall have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the code of civil procedure, 1908 and, in particular, in respect of the following matters, namely:—| (        | a   | ) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him         ||----------|-----|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| on oath; |     |                                                                                  || 10       |     |                                                                                  || (        | b   | ) discovery and production of any document;                                      || (        | c   | ) asking for any public document or its copy from any court or office;           || (        | d   | ) receiving evidence on affidavits;                                              || (        | e   | ) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; and || (        | f   | ) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents             || 15       |     |                                                                                  |23 (1) the state government shall provide such necessary staff and technical assistance to the state commission as may be necessary for effective implementation of this act20(2) the state government shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, provide for effective mechanism for proper implementation of the provisions of this act and ensuring transparency and accountability at all the levelsstate government to provide necessary staff and technical assistance to the state commission chapter v farmers' courtfarmers' court2524 (1) for the purpose of exercising the jurisdiction and powers conferred by thisact, the state government, after consultation with the high court, may, by notification, establish one or more farmers' court for every gram panchayat or a group of contiguous gram panchayats30(2) the state government shall, after consultation with the high court, specify, by notification, the local limits of the area to which the jurisdiction of a farmers' court shall extend and may, at any time, increase, reduce or alter such limits(3) the farmers' court established under sub-section (1) shall be in addition to the courts established under any other law for the time being in force(4) every farmers' court shall consist of,—35(i) a chairperson and not more than two members, to be nominated by the gramsabha; and(ii) not more than two members, to be nominated by the parties to the case(5) the terms and conditions of the service of the chairperson and members of a farmers' court shall be such as may be prescribed(6) notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the farmers' court shall have the power to:—40(a) try any decision made by a procurement centre under section 4; and (b) try a complaint filed by any person regarding the operation of the procurementcentrepenalty and punishment4525 (1) any person serving under the central or a state government, who fails tocomply with the order or award passed by the farmers' court, shall be punishable with a fine which shall not be less than rupees five thousand but may extend to rupees one lakh2 of 1974(2) notwithstanding anything contained in the code of criminal procedure, 1973, farmers' court shall have the power of a first class judicial magistrate for trial of offences under this act chapter vi national fund for farmers5national fund for farmers26 (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitutea fund to be known as the national fund for farmers(2) the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament, bylaw, in this behalf, provide adequate funds to the fund for being utilised for the purposes of this act10(3) the fund shall be utilized in such a manner and be subject to such conditions, asmay be prescribed by the central government27 it shall be the responsibility of the central government to ensure proper utilisationand management of the fund for the purposes of this actcentral government to ensure proper utilisation and management of the fund chapter vii miscellaneous1522 of 200528 notwithstanding anything contained in the right to information act, 2005, everystate government shall provide the information on matters referred to in this act within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of application regarding informationprovision of information on matters covered under this act29 the central government shall bear the entire expenditure made in connectionwith the national commission and the state commissions20central government to bear expenditure30 the central government shall provide adequate financial assistance to the stategovernments for proper implementation of this actcentral government to provide financial assistance to state governments power to remove difficulties25| 31                                                                                          ||----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| government may, by order published in the official gazette, make such provisions, not        || inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as may appear to be necessary for removing the || difficulty:                                                                                  |provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of the period of two years from the date of commencement of this act30| (                                ||----------------------------------|| before each house of parliament || protection of                    || action taken                     || in good faith                   |3532 no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the centralgovernment, the state government, the national commission, the state commission, or any member thereof or any person acting under the direction either of the central government, state government, the national commission or the state commission, in respect of anything which, is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this act or of any rules made thereunder or in respect of the publication by or under the authority of the central government, state government, the national commission, or the state commission of any report or paperoverriding effect of the act33 the provisions of this act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistenttherewith contained in any enactment other than this act or in any instrument having effectby virtue of any enactment other than this act534 the provisions of this act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, anyother law for the time being in forceact to be in addition to other laws power to give directions35   for the purposes of this act, the central government may, from time to time, givesuch general or special directions as it thinks fit, and the state governments shall, in the discharge of its functions under this act, comply with such directions1036 (1) where the central government is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient soto do, it may, by notification, add to or omit from schedule any itempower to amend schedule(2) every notification issued under sub-section (1) shall be laid before each house ofparliamentpower to make rules37 (1) the central government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out thepurposes of this act1520(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament or, as the case may be, each house of the state legislature, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, parliament or, as the case may be, the state legislature agrees in making any modification in the rule or agrees 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 rule2538 (1) the state government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out thepurposes of this actpower of the state government to make rules(2) every rule made by the state government under this section shall be laid, as soonas may be after it is made, before each house of the state legislature where it consists of two houses, or where such state legislature consists of one house, before that house schedule[see sections 3(1) and 36(1)]  1 fibrecotton, sugarcane  2 cerealswheat, millet, pearl millet, barley, maize, paddy  3 leguminouslentil, arhar, chola, batla, chana, groundnut, moth, gwar,cerealshorsegram  4 oilseedssesame, mustard, black mustard, tara, linseed, soyabean, sunflower  5 fruitslemon, malta, orange, pumpkin, papaya, guava, mango, muskmelon, watermelon, pomegranate, water chestnut, banana, ber, mausambi, grapes, falsa, cucumber, apple, shehtoot, khirni, sapota, leechi, leekat, aonla, khurmani, adu, jamun, kamalgatta, alubukhara  6 vegetablespotato, sugarbeet, onion, tomato, pumpkin, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, brinjal, raddish, (green and red pepper), ladyfinger, green pea, garlic, leafy vegetables, tinda, gourd, taro, torai, bitter gourd, green cholai, raw turmeric, kauraunda, kairi, shaljam, parwal, jamikand, kathal, kamalkakari, ratalu  7 animal husbandrywool and ghee  8 spicescumin, coriander, methi, asafoetida, ajwain, ginger  9 forest produceconstruction woods (except for the wood imported for handicraft manufacturing)10 miscellaneousposta seeds, isabgoal, mehendi (1 fruit, dry leaves of flowers 2 tea leaves 3 coffee 4 coconut  5 coconut water 6 pind dates 7 sonamukhi), aswagandha statement of objects and reasonsthe supreme court has recognized the right to dignified livelihood as an essential part of right to life enshrined in article 21 of the constitutionarticle 38(2) states that the state shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different locationsarticles 46 and 47 of the constitution give directions to the state for formulating laws for raising the standard of living of weaker sections of society by protecting from social injustice with augmentation of their educational and economical interests with special attentionaccording to a 2003 report of the national sample survey organisation, income of a farmers' family is rs 2115 per month whereas the starting monthly salary of a class iv employee of the government is rupees 15,000 per month on the other hand, agriculture is not a preferred occupation of the new generation because it is not remunerative those who are engaged in agriculture are doing so because they do not have any alternative according to another survey of the national sample survey organisation conducted in the year 2005, forty per cent farmers will leave agriculture if other occupations are made available to them though industrial sector have full freedom to charge whatever price they desire, the prices of agricultural produce are fixed by the government on the basis of cost price farmers do not have the freedom to determine prices of agricultural products and the prices of agricultural produce are fixed by those who are not directly concerned with agriculture prices of agricultural produce are not fixed on the basis of cost and dividend like the industrial sector, therefore, dual standards exist in the price fixation of agricultural productsthe prices of agricultural produce have risen very slowly compared to other productsin 1956, the cost of 45 kilogram wheat could buy 200 litre diesel, and now the situation is that to buy same quantity diesel the cost of 8 quintals of wheat is required in 1970, the cost of one quintal of wheat was required to buy ten grams of gold and today approximately the cost of 30 quintal wheat is required for the same quantity of gold decline in purchasing power of cereals has also adversely affected farmers and has led them to a pitiable conditiontoday, agriculture is in crisis the contribution of agriculture in gross national product was fifty-five per cent in the year 1951 before the start of first five-year plan which has decreased to 139 per cent in the year 2011-12 farmers are helpless both at the time of selling their agricultural produce and are equally helpless at the time of purchasing consumer goods from markets a farmer is born under the debt and dies under its burden according to a survey of national crime records bureau, approximately 25 lakh farmers had to end their life due to vicious cycle of debt farmers are forced to sell their produce at prices less than their cost of production due to lack of storage capacity and facility the government does not provide the benefit of minimum support price to them as a result, unrest, anarchy and naxalism and terrorism have spread due to widening of social disparityat present, there is no sector other than agriculture which can provide employment to more than sixty per cent population which is dependent on agriculture interests of farmers have been neglected in the last sixty-four years till date, minimum support price is fixed for a few agricultural produces only which are fixed less than the actual cost and a stable system has not been developed for purchase at minimum support price in the last forty-seven years the present bill is very important to solve the problems of farmers and save agriculture by ensuring  minimum price of agricultural produce to farmers if the required quantity of wheat, rice, maize,  pearl, pulses and the foodgrains grown in an area are kept in that area for providing the same to persons living below poverty line then the expenditure on transport, carriage and government machinery will be avoided and farmers will also be given assured incomenew delhi;devji  m pateljune 27, 2014 financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides that the central government shall declare an assured minimum price of every agricultural produce specified in the schedule of this act it also provides that the declaration shall be given wide publicity by the central government clause 4 provides that the central government shall establish a procurement centre in every district to facilitate procurement of agricultural produce of farmers at assured minimum price it also provides for compensation to farmers in case the in-charge of procurement centre refuses to purchase the agricultural produce clause 6 provides for preparing scheme on providing employment to a farmer in affected areas it also provides that if a farmer is not provided with employment he shall be given minimum wages for a certain period clause 7 provides for constitution of an assessment expert committee to assess loss suffered by farmers and payment of compensation it also provides for payment of compensation by the in-charge of procurement centre clause 8 provides for payment of insurance amount to farmers by the insurance company on account of natural calamity or loss suffered due to wild animals clause 9 provides for availability of loan to farmers from a procurement centre against their agricultural produce clause 10 provides for establishment of the national farmers' commission by the central government clause 11 provides for payment of salary, allowance and other conditions of service of chairperson and members of the national commission clause 14 provides for appointment of adequate number of officers and staff of national commission it also provides for payment of salary and allowances and other terms and conditions of the officers and staff of the national commission clause 15 provides for giving wide publicity to the assured minimum price announced by the central government through print and electronic media and also disseminate information among the farmers about the market prices of agricultural products in various states clause 17 provides for establishment of state farmers' commission clause 18 provides for conditions of service of the chairperson and members of the state commission clause 20 provides for officers and staff of the state commission clause 24 provides for establishment of farmers' court in every gram panchayat clause 26 provides for constitution of national fund for farmers by the central government clause 29 provides that the central government shall bear the entire expenditure made in connection with the national commission and the state commissions clause 30 provides for financial assistance to the state governments for carrying out the purposes of this act the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that an annual recurring expenditure of about rupees fifteen thousand crore is likely to be incurred from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of about rupees fifteen thousand crore is also likely to be incurred memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 16 of the bill empowers the national commission for framing of rules of procedure, transaction of its business, quorum at its meetings, etc for discharging certain functions under this actclause 22 of the bill empowers the state commission for framing of rules of procedure, transaction of its business, quorum at its meetings, etc for discharging certain functions under this actclause 37 empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the actthe rules made by the central government are required to be  laid, as soon as they are made, before each house of parliamentclause 38 of the bill empowers the state governments to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the actthe rules made by the state governments are required to be laid, as soon as may be after they are made, before their respective state legislaturesthe matters in respect of which rules may be made are generally matters of procedure and administrative details and it is not practicable to provide for them in the bill itself the delegation of legislative power is, therefore, of a normal character———— a billto provide assured minimum price of agricultural produce to farmers by establishing farmers' commissions at national and state levels and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————(shri devji m patel, mp)gmgipmrnd—1425ls(s3)—31072014