Karnataka will not repeal amendments to APMC Act: Co-op Minister
The Hindu
The amendments have allowed farmers to sell their produce outside APMC
Claiming that the amendments to the APMC Act in 2020 have benefited farmers, Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekar said that the Karnataka Government has no proposal to repeal them. The amendments that were on the lines of the Central law, which was repealed following the agitation by farmers in Delhi.
“The amendments to the APMC enabled farmers to sell their produce anywhere instead of restricting them to the APMC. The clause imposing penalty between ₹5,000 and ₹25,000 has been removed through the amendments. There is no proposal to repeal the law,” Cooperation Minister S.T. Somashekar told the Legislative Council on February 15.
The Minister’s response was to a question by Congress member K. Harish Kumar, who sought to know if the amendments will be repealed and will some APMCs be merged. Mr. Kumar said that following the amendment, the APMCs had seen a decline in revenue by 70% and urged the government to repeal the amendments.
The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the State government to file its statement of objections on an application filed by Bangalore Turf Club Ltd. (BTC), challenging the June 6 orders passed by the government in rejecting the BTC’s applications seeking permission to conduct on-course horse races and betting during the June-August season.