NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday announced a major relief for farmers in Punjab’s border belt after the Central Government agreed in principle to shift the Border Security Fence closer to the International Border, a move that will clear the way for unhindered cultivation of thousands of acres of farmland currently trapped beyond the fencing.
Calling on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, the Chief Minister said farmers have long been forced to cross the fence with identity cards and under BSF escort to reach their own fields, facing daily hardship and uncertainty along the 532 km India Pakistan border where fencing lies deep inside Punjab’s territory. He said the Home Minister informed him during the meeting that the issue is under active consideration and that the fencing will be shifted towards the border, bringing Punjab’s land back on the accessible side without compromising national security.
Alongside the border issue, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann also raised a series of long pending concerns, including Punjab’s objections to the proposed Seeds Bill 2025, the unresolved Sutlej Yamuna Link dispute (SYL), slow movement of foodgrains by the FCI, freezing of Arthia Commission, non payment of Rural Development Fund (RDF) and Mandi Fund, and the dilution of Punjab’s role in Chandigarh’s administration, seeking prompt and time bound resolution of these matters.
Raising serious objections to the proposed Seeds Bill 2025, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Punjab is an agrarian state and one of the largest grain producing states of the country, yet the draft Seed Bill does not assure representation of the state as per schedule under the relevant section. The zone based system introduced in the Bill does not guarantee Punjab’s representation in the Central Seed Committee, unlike the existing system, thereby limiting the state’s voice in decisions that directly affect the seed sector.”
The Punjab CM added, “The proposed Bill also curtails the existing powers of the State Seed Committee, as there is no role envisaged for the state level committee in seed registration, and the draft is silent on a robust compensation framework for farmers who suffer losses when registered seed fails to perform as claimed.”