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A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking implementation of a legally enforceable Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all notified agricultural crops based on C2 (actual cost of cultivation) plus 50 percent (profit margin) formula in terms of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.

The plea, filed by farmer and former Member of Lok Sabha Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, also seeks formulation of a timebound debt relief mechanism, which may include a one-time waiver of crop loan dues of small and marginal farmers affected by agrarian distress. 

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana today tagged the petition with a similar case.

Briefly put, the petitioner, besides the above, seeks directions to the respondent-authorities to formulate in a timebound manner a statutory framework to ensure that no agricultural produce is procured below the MSP. He further prays for a direction to the respondents to consider framing a central legislation on the lines of the Kerala Farmers' Debt Relief Commission Act.

The petitioner also seeks equitable and adequate access to institutional credit for farmers - particularly small, marginal and tenant farmers - so that dependence on private moneylenders is reduced. Some other reliefs sought are as follows:

- Recognition and protection for tenant farmers, including access to crop loans, insurance and welfare schemes, by suitable amendment to the Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act,

- Increase in allocation and effective implementation of schemes related to price support, procurement and market intervention, including PM-AASHA, PSS, MIS and PDPS,

- Strengthening of agricultural marketing infrastructure and enhanced investment in irrigation infrastructure, 

- Timebound completion of ongoing irrigation projects to reduce dependency on rainfall and minimize agrarian risks,

- Enhanced investment in agricultural research and development and guidelines to protect disaster-affected agriculturists against loan recovery proceedings, distress sale of agricultural land, etc., 

- A statutory fund for climate-related agricultural disasters,

- Declaration that deletion/omission of welfare protections contained in erstwhile Disaster Management Act was arbitrary, as well as reintroduction of statutory protections like livelihood restoration, concessional repayment of agricultural loans, grant of fresh working capital credit facilities for disaster-affected farmers, and

- Immediate relief to distressed farmers, such as moratorium on recovery of agricultural loans in cases of crop failures and natural calamities.

In April, the Supreme Court issued notice on the plea of 3 Maharashtra-based farmers seeking directions to the Union to give due weightage to C2, the exact cost of cultivation, while fixing MSP for agricultural produce. 

Case: VADDE SOBHANADREESWARA RAO Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ANR., Diary No. 27847-2026

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