A file photo of Punjab farmers during the protest at Shambhu Border. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Punjab Government informed the Supreme Court of India on Friday (February 28, 2025) that representatives of the Union Government and farmers’ leaders have met twice to discuss issues, including the guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, and would meet again on March 19, 2025.

Appearing before a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N.K. Singh, Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh submitted that two Ministers of the State were also participating in the meetings.

Explained | Will a hike in MSP help farmers?

The platform for the meetings are being facilitated by an apex court-appointed committee led by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice Nawab Singh. The Supreme Court’s consistent and urgent interventions prompted by the State of health farmers’ leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on a hunger strike, had cleared the path for talks.

In January, after nearly two months of his fast Mr. Dallewal had finally accepted medical aid and was shifted to a makeshift hospital. Mr. Dallewal had relented after meeting with a high-level delegation from the Union Government. He was holding his hunger strike at Kanauri border. More than 110 other farmers’ leaders, had also joined Mr. Dallewal in his hunger strike at the time.

Besides MSP, the protesting farmers had further sought a legal guarantee to protect their income and stabilise the agricultural market. Farmers have been camped at Shambhu and Kanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana ever since their march to Delhi was stopped in February 2024.

During the earlier hearings, before the Centre’s team met with the farmers, the Supreme Court had separately questioned the Union Government’s reluctance to come out with a statement that its “doors are open” to consider the “genuine grievances” of the protestors.

Lauding the work done by the Justice Singh committee, the apex court ordered the State Government to pay them an honorarium for every meeting. The Bench said it would hold on to the confidential status reports filed by the committee for now. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the State of Haryana, had requested the court for copies of the reports.

Chandigarh:

Farmers blocked roads at many places across the state on Monday as part of their Punjab bandh call, hamstringing the commuter traffic.

A call for a shutdown was given last week by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha over the Centre not accepting the demands of protesting farmers.

The bandh will be observed from 7 am to 4 pm. Farmers observed a sit-in at Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza which affected vehicular movement on the Patiala-Chandigarh National Highway.

At Amritsar’s Golden Gate, farmers started to assemble near the city’s entry point while in Bathinda’s Rampura Phul, they blocked roads.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Sunday said though there will be a complete bandh, emergency services will be allowed to operate.

“The bandh will be observed from 7 am to 4 pm. However, emergency services will remain operational. Anyone travelling to the airport to catch a flight or anyone going to attend a job interview, or anyone needs to attend a wedding… all these things have been kept out of our bandh call,” he said.

Meanwhile, 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s hunger strike entered its 35th day on Monday.

Mr Dallewal has so far refused medical treatment.

Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border demanding a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Mr Dallewal had earlier said he would not break his fast until the government agreed to the farmers’ demands.

The top court has given the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Mr Dallewal to shift to a hospital, granting the state the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if necessary.

Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

A “jatha” (group) of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot three times between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel from Haryana.

Besides the MSP, farmers are also demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The NRI quota system in college admissions was nothing but a fraud, the Supreme Court said today as it dismissed the Punjab government’s appeal against a high court order that junked amended rules to avail admission to MBBS courses through this quota.

The Punjab government had, in a notification dated August 20, widened the definition of an NRI candidate and made relatives of Non-Resident Indians (NRI) eligible to seek admission to the MBBS course under this quota. The Punjab and Haryana High Court shot down this notification, observing that this “opens the door for potential misuse”.

In the Supreme Court today, the Punjab government’s counsel said that Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were following a broad definition for NRI quota admissions. “HP, UP, Chandigarh, everyone is following the definition which I am saying… so only I am under (a) narrow definition,” he said.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud replied, “You are saying the nearest relation of NRI will also be considered. what is this? just a money-spinning tactic by the state.”

The bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala, backed the high court order. “We must stop this NRI quota business now! This is a complete fraud. This is what we are doing to our education system,” the Chief Justice said. “Look at the result. Those who got marks three times high won’t get admission,” he added. Justice Pardiwala said all the applicants are from India. “They are just relatives, tai (aunt), taau (uncle), chacha, chachi.”

The Chief Justice said, “What is a ward? you just have to say I am looking after X.” He said the court cannot back something that is “blatantly illegal”.

There are about 185 NRI quota seats in Punjab’s medical and dental colleges.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has intervened to halt the opening of a road outside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Chandigarh. The decision, made today, comes as a response to concerns raised by both the Centre and the Punjab government regarding security threats associated with the road’s opening.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta noted that both the Centre and Punjab government have opposed the opening of the road, which has been closed since the 1980s, owing to a threat perception.

The road had been closed due to security reasons during height of terrorism in Punjab, and was set to be reopened on a trial basis.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on April 22 ordered opening of the 500-metre road, connecting Sukhna Lake to Nayagaon in Chandigarh, on a trial basis from May 1.

The High Court’s order had included provisions for the Chandigarh Police to engage traffic experts in formulating a comprehensive traffic management plan for the road, which was intended to be open from 7 am to 7 pm on working days.

Since the closure of the road, people moving between Nayagaon and Sukhna Lake were forced to take long detours via adjacent sectors of the city.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks during the ongoing session of Punjab Legislative Assembly, in Chandigarh on October 3, 2022.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced increasing the price of sugarcane to ₹380 per quintal from the existing ₹360 per quintal.

He announced a hike in SAP (State agreed price) of sugarcane on the floor of the Punjab Assembly on the concluding day of its brief session.

Also read | No viable options: farmers in Punjab forced to persist with paddy, go against the grain

In August 2021, the then Congress government had announced a ₹50 per quintal hike in SAP of sugarcane to ₹360 per quintal.

Mr. Mann said farmers will get an additional ₹20 per quintal under SAP of sugarcane as compared to last year.

With this decision, the State government will spend an additional ₹200 crore annually to benefit the farmers.

Mr. Mann said the farmers of the State eagerly want to adopt sugarcane crop under crop diversification, but they are hesitant for it due to lack of adequate price and timely payment of the crop.

At present, sugarcane is cultivated on just 1.25 lakh hectares of land in Punjab, while the total crushing capacity of sugar mills was around 2.50 lakh hectares. This is why the State government has decided to enhance the price to supplement the income of farmers, he said.

Data | How States compare in agri-production: Punjab and Haryana dominate

Informing the House about the present status of the payments, the Chief Minister said the cooperative sugar mills have already paid the entire dues of the farmers but two private sugar mills have not paid the dues yet.

He informed that the owners of these mills have fled from the country, adding that the state government has already initiated the process to confiscate their assets to pay the pending dues of the farmers.