Modi govt agrees to shift fencing closer to Pakistan border to aid farmers: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann gave farmers who cultivate in areas close to the state’s border with Pakistan welcome news on Saturday (January 17), saying the Centre has agreed in principle to move the security fence close to the International Border (IB).

Mann, who met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter’s residence in New Delhi earlier in the day, said the move will pave the way for unhindered cultivation of thousands of acres that have currently remained trapped beyond the barbed wire-fencing.

Mann speaks about farmers' hardships

The Punjab CM said farmers have long been forced to cross the fence carrying identity cards and under the Border Security Force’s escort to reach their own fields. He added that it causes them daily hardships and uncertainty along the 532-kilometre-long India-Pakistan border in Punjab, where fencing lies deep inside the state’s territory.

Also read: Navjot Kaur Sidhu's 'Rs 500 crore CM' claim sparks fresh feud in Punjab Congress

The Aam Aadmi Party leader said the home minister told him during the meeting that the government is actively looking into the matter and that the fencing will be moved towards the border, bringing the state's land back on the accessible side without the national security being compromised.

Nearly 20,000 acres of agricultural land lie beyond the fencing along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.

Besides the border issue, CM 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, slow movement of foodgrains by the FCI, freezing of Arthia Commission, non-payment of Rural Development Fund and Mandi Fund, and the dilution of Punjab's role in Chandigarh's administration. He sought a prompt and time-bound resolution of these matters.

Mann objects to Seeds Bill 2025

Raising objections to the proposed Seeds Bill 2025, 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.

Also read: Chandigarh under Article 240: What is behind Centre's move? | Capital Beat

“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.”

He conveyed to Shah that agriculture is Punjab's lifeline, where farmers grow crops, sell part of the produce and retain seeds for the next season, and forcing farmers to depend entirely on companies for seeds is neither practical nor in farmers' interest.

The CM said the Bill should not be brought before Parliament in its present form, and was assured by the Union home minister that the concerns would be examined.

On river waters

Reiterating Punjab's long-standing position on river waters, the chief minister said, “Punjab has no surplus water to share with any other state. There has been a substantial reduction in the availability of Sutlej, Ravi and Beas waters, and therefore, construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal is not viable.”

Also read: What has Centre changed in Panjab University's governance and why the political uproar

He said that out of 34.34 Mean Annual Flow (MAF) of water from these rivers, Punjab was allocated only 14.22 MAF, about 40 per cent, while the remaining 60 per cent was allocated to Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan, even though none of these rivers actually flow through those states.

“This is a gross injustice with Punjab, and there is absolutely no question of constructing this canal as it is totally against the interests of the state and its people,” Mann said.

On foodgrain movement and storage

Highlighting the problem of foodgrain movement and storage, the chief minister said, "For the last five months, the FCI has been moving only about 4 to 5 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and 5 to 6 LMT of rice from Punjab. Against 95 LMT of pending rice of Kharif marketing season 2025-26 to be delivered, only 20 LMT of storage space is currently available.”

Also read: After yet another toxic Diwali in Delhi, BJP blames stubble burning in AAP-led Punjab

On the issue of the Arthia Commission, CM Mann said, “The Arthia Commission has been frozen since the 2019-20 procurement season, contrary to the provisions of The Punjab Agriculture Produce and Marketing Act 1961.”

(With agency inputs)