Chandigarh: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the governments of Punjab and Haryana to hold further meetings with protesting farmers for the removal of their tractors and trolleys from the Shambhu border on the Delhi-Amritsar national highway (also called GT road) for the passage of ambulances, senior citizens, essential services women, students and commuters.
It may be recalled that a large number of farmers have been camping at the said site on the national highway since February 13 this year – when their ``Delhi chalo’’ tractor march was stopped by the Haryana police and central forces at the said Punjab-Haryana border - to press for their various demands including the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.
The apex court had on August 12 stated that the highways cannot be used as parking space and asked the Punjab and Haryana authorities to hold a meeting within a week for partial opening of the said border.
The Punjab advocate general Gurminder Singh informed a three-judge bench led by Justice Surya Kant that the officials of the two states had held a meeting with the farmers who have agreed to partial reopening of the highway but insisted on marching towards Delhi with their tractors and trolleys to press for their demands. He held that the state was even open to allow them to proceed on vehicles which are permissible according to the motor vehicle Act.
The bench, also comprising justices Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan asked the Punjab AG to persuade the farmers to clear the highway and remove their tractors and trolleys
The bench asked the two state governments to keep persuading the farmers to remove their tractors and trolleys from the highway to allow the passage of ambulances and others.
The top court – which is hearing the Haryana government’s petition challenging July 10 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court requiring Haryana to remove with a week the barricades at the said border, asked the Punjab advocate general Singh and Haryana senior additional advocate general Lokesh Sinhal to inform it by the next date about the progress made in the talks with the farmers.
.jpg)
The apex court also deferred its decision on forming the expert committee for resolving concerns of farmers over MSP and other issues till September 2, the date of next hearing.
The bench said that on the composition of the committee and the issues to be resolved by them, it had done its homework but it would request both the states to assure the farmers that since now the court is considering having a forum for them to reach out with their grievances, the issue can be resolved only as per the law.
