Will soon constitute committee to amicably resolve farmers' grievances for all times: SC

While hearing the case involving the removal of barricades in on national highways in Punjab and Haryana, the Supreme Court on Thursday assured farmers that it would soon constitute a multi-member committee to amicably resolve their grievances "for all times".

A bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, which posted the matter for further hearing on September 2, asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to give tentative issues concerning farmers to the committee.

The Punjab government informed the top court that in compliance with the August 12 order of the apex court, they held a meeting with the protesting farmers in which they had agreed to partially open the blocked highway.

The bench asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to keep engaging with protesting farmers and persuade them to remove their tractors and trollies from the highway.

On August 12, the top court asked the Punjab government to persuade the farmers protesting at the Shambhu border since February 13 to remove tractors and trollies from the road, saying that "highways are not parking space".

The court was hearing the Haryana government's plea challenging the high court's order asking it to remove within a week the barricades erected at the Shambhu border near Ambala where protesting farmers have been camping since February 13.

The Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February after the 'Samyukta Kisan Morcha' (Non-Political) and 'Kisan Mazdoor Morcha' announced that farmers would march to Delhi in support of their demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their produce. 

(With inputs from agencies)