Pb cabinet approves amendments to acts to provide relief to

The Punjab cabinet today approved amendments to various acts to provide relief to the debt-ridden farmers by promoting agricultural diversification and rural infrastructural development in the state.
The amendments relate to Section 5(1) of the 'Punjab Rural Development Act, 1987', increasing the rural development fee rate from 2 to 3 per cent, and to Sections 23 (1), 26 and 28 of the 'Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961', to provide relief to the debt stressed farmers, an official spokesperson said.
The necessary bills related to matter would be introduced in the forthcoming Punjab Assembly session, he said after the cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

The amendments would help to secure both the produce of agricultural commodities and producers, and to utilise the rural development fund for providing relief to the farmers burdened by debts, the spokesperson said.
The market fee so collected is spent on better marketing of agricultural produce and development of market infrastructure and its maintenance, he said.
The spokesperson said the fee is being used for new projects, including maize dryers, grading of agriculture produce, ripening chambers and cold storage, besides repair of link roads.
The amendments to the 'Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961', will not only help alleviate the problems of the debt stressed farmers but would also help producers get a fair price for their produce, he said.

It will, in addition, help in modernising marketing mechanism to keep pace with the advanced trade practices being witnessed globally, he said.