‘Kurki’ goes; go-ahead to e-auction of farm produce

Chandigarh : In a major relief to the farmers, the Assembly today scrapped “kurki”, a practice under which mortgaged land is auctioned to recover loans, by abolishing Section 67-A of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra said the Congress government had fulfilled a major poll promise by doing away with “kurki”. He said Section 67-A had empowered bank officials to send auction notices to the farmers when they failed to repay the debt. Many farmers had committed suicide after receiving “kurki” notices, he added. Mohindra said Section 67-A was incorporated during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government, adding that the Akalis falsely claimed to be the champion of farmers’ rights. The Assembly also gave its nod to e-marketing of the farmers’ produce. This will enable private players to buy the produce directly from the farmers and sell it online. There will be a single licence valid across the state. Earlier, the registration was separate for each grain market. The buyer will now have to pay market fee at one point only. Mohindra said the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017, was aimed at facilitating e-marketing and e-trading. The amendment had been hanging fire for the past seven years.