No record of farmers' death during protest, so no financial aid: Govt

New Delhi, Dec 01: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday informed Parliament that the government has "no record" of farmers death, who were protesting the three contentious farm laws that have now been repealed, over the last one year at Delhi borders.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare has no record in the matter and hence the question does not arise,", said Government in Parliament to the question on whether it proposes to provide financial assistance to the kin of farmers who died during the agitation'.

Farmer Unions have claimed that over 700 farmers perished while protesting against the contentious agri laws at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders since November 2020.

The repeal of these three legislations has been one of the key demands of around 40 farmer unions protesting against these reforms for nearly a year now at various Delhi border points.

On November 21, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) -- the joint body of farmer unions leading the current protests -- had written to the prime minister to immediately resume talks on the farmers' six demands, including legal guarantee for procurement of crops at MSP.

The other demands were sacking and arrest of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, withdrawal of cases against farmers and building of a memorial for those who lost their lives during the agitation.

They also sought removal of penal provisions on farmers in the 'Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021' and withdrawal of the draft 'Electricity Amendments Bill, 2020/2021' proposed by the government.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act is aimed at giving freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the mandis.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act is to provide cultivators the right to enter into a contract with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act was implemented to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities and also do away with the imposition of stock holding limits on such items, except under 'extraordinary circumstances'.