Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa Kul Mundkar Sangharsh Samiti has urged the State government to withdrawn the recently passed Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agriculture Bill immediately failing which to be prepared to face the consequences.
Addressing mediapersons on Wednesday, Samiti Convenor Santosh Mandrekar urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to immediately withdraw the Bill, which was passed by the State Assembly without taking farmers or local bodies into confidence.
Mandrekar demanded that the Bill should not be referred to the Goa Governor for his assent. “If the government fails to withdraw the Bill, then be ready to face the consequences. We farmers will come on the street and hold major protest in form of rasta roko,” he said.
Earlier, Samiti Vice-President Sanjay Barde questioned as why the farmers or panchayats were not taken into confidence while drafting the Bill or before the Bill was tabled in the House and passed.
“Also, apart from the opposition, none from the ruling raised any concern over the Bill, which is going to destroy farmers and their source of livelihood,” he said.
Barde said that this Bill is nothing but ‘an attempt to grab agriculture land’. “The Bill does not speak about restriction but open sale of agriculture land,” he said.
