Maha govt wants Centre to strengthen Seeds Act

The Maharashtra government today informed the Legislative Council that it has sent a proposal to the Centre to strengthen the Seeds Act, that will serve as a deterrent to bogus seeds selling companies.
During the Question Hour, Congress MLC Rajendra Mulak asked whether the state government had in April this year received reports from laboratories that soyabean seeds samples sent for testing were of inferior quality and had less than 50 per cent cultivation capacity.
"If it is true that such a report has been received, what action has the government taken against the companies involved in wrongdoings and if no action has been taken, what are the reasons for that?" he asked.

In his response, state Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse said only the Central government has the right to amend the Seeds Act-1966, and according to the current provisions, a company is penalised Rs 500 for a first time offence and if the offence is repeated, the concerned company officials can be jailed for six months.
"The previous government had sent a proposal to the Centre to make the law stronger and we too have sent a similar proposal as the current law is very weak. We received a response from the Centre in which we were informed that the Amendment Bill will be placed before the Lok Sabha in the current session for discussion," Khadse said.

Currently, there is only one laboratory in Varanasi that can test the quality of seeds and despite the Centre's directions that a report on samples sent from any state should be prepared within a month, it sometimes takes 6-8 months for the report to be prepared, he further said.
"Till the Bill is not amended and the state government gets the powers to take action against these seeds companies, those who have been affected by bogus seeds can approach consumer court and claim damages. In the past as well, the court has ordered compensation amount to be paid," Khadse said.