 bill no 124  of 2009 the cotton growers (remunerative price and welfare) bill, 2009 by shri hansraj gangaram ahir, mp a billto provide for the remunerative price for the produce of the cotton growers, insurance of cotton crop free of cost and for their overall welfare and for matters connected therewith be  it enacted by parliament in the sixtieth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the cotton growers (remunerative price and welfare)act, 2009short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india5(3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appoint2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—definitions(a) "cotton grower" means any person who cultivates cotton; and (b) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act3 (1) it shall be the duty of the central government to procure the entire cotton crop produced in the country through an agency to be set up for the purposeprocurement of cotton and fixation of its remunerative price(2) the central government shall fix the price of cotton every year after taking into consideration,—5(i) the increase in the price of cotton seeds, pesticides, fertilizers and otherinputs;(ii) total investment of the cotton growers; and (iii) such other factors as may be prescribed104 the central government shall take all necessary steps to export the surplus cottonproduced during a year in the countryexport of surplus cottoninsurance5 the entire cotton produced by the cotton growers shall be compulsorily insuredfree of cost by the central government against natural calamities, fall in the yield of cotton, fall in the price of cotton and such other eventualities as may be prescribed156 (1) the central government shall set up a fund to be known as the cotton growers welfare fundcotton growers welfare fund(2) the central government and the state governments shall contribute to the fund in such ratio as may be prescribedutilisation of the fund7 the cotton growers welfare fund shall be used for the following purposes, namely:—20(a) to provide financial assistance to cotton growers for purchasing cottonseeds, pesticides and fertilizers, and in cases of low yields of cotton or loss of their crops due to rains, storms, floods, hailstorms and drought;(b) to pay compensation to the next of kin of cotton growers in the event of theirdeath;(c) to pay life insurance premium on behalf of the cotton growers;25(d) to provide free health facilities to cotton growers and their families; (e) to provide assistance to the cotton growers in the event of disability; and (f) for such other purposes as may be prescribed by the central governmentpower to make rules308 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official  gazette, make rulesfor carrying out the purposes of this act35(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 reasonscotton is a commercial crop it is cultivated in various states in the country cotton growers are facing problems, as they are not getting remunerative price for their produce cotton growing has become a non-profitable agricultural activity due to increase in the prices of cotton seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and other inputs but the prices of cotton produce have not increased in the same proportion cotton growers have to go for loans as the investment in the cultivation has gone up this has led to the indebtedness of cotton growers and when they are unable to repay loans they take the extreme step of  committing suicidemoreover, there is no certainty of sale of cotton grown by them there is a growing demand of indian handloom textiles in the world therefore, the production of cotton should be increased but, due to inadequate remunerative price for cotton, the aggrieved cotton growers are forced to abandon cotton farming in favour of other cropsin the state of maharashtra, the state government used to procure cotton by giving bonus under a guarantee under that arrangement, the cotton growers used to get remunerative price but now the state government has discontinued this scheme thereby compounding the problems of cotton growersthe government is required to provide remunerative price and also immediate relief to cotton growers in the event of natural calamities like storm, heavy rains, drought, hailstorm and flood so that cotton growers can feel respite there is an urgent need to enact a law, which can ensure government assistance to cotton growers in the event of fall in prices or damage to their crops therefore, setting up of a fund for cotton growers and provision of insurance scheme for them will certainly prove to be beneficial for them an agency is also required to be set up by the central government to procure the cotton producethe bill, if enacted, will protect the interests and promote the welfare of the cotton growers in the countryhence this billnew delhi; financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for procurement of cotton from cotton growers by an agency to be set up by the central government and fixation of remunerative prices for cotton by the central government clause 5 provides for compulsory free insurance by the central government of cotton crop against natural calamities clause 6 provides for setting up of a cotton growers welfare fund to which the central government and the state governments shall contribute in such ratio, as may be prescribedthe bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about  rupees two thousand crore will be involved per annuma non-recurring annual expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 8 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the billas the rules relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal characterlok sabha————lok   sa a billto provide for the remunerative price for the produce of the cotton growers, insurance of cotton crop free of cost and for their overall welfare and for matters connected therewith————(shri hansraj gangaram ahir, mp)