BKU leadership meets Haryana CM, presents 11-point charter of farmers’ demands

A delegation of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Charuni, led by its national president Gurnam Singh Charuni, met Haryana chief minister (CM) Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday night and submitted a detailed memorandum highlighting pressing issues faced by the state’s farming community.The farmers urged the government to take immediate action on an 11-point charter of demands, stressing that timely intervention is necessary to safeguard both agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods.Key Demands of BKU Charuni include early paddy procurement, enhanced flood compensation, tube well compensation, drainage and embankment repairs, ownership of flood sand, Cheeka flood problem, urea fertiliser distribution, assured cotton procurement, crop insurance compensation law, sugarcane price hike and compensation of power towers.Charuni said the government should start paddy procurement from September 15 instead of the usual date, to avoid problems of storage and crop damage. He said for flood-affected areas compensation shall be increased to Rs 50,000 per acre, pointing out that the existing relief is insufficient to cover actual losses.The farm union also sought financial aid for farmers whose tube wells and irrigation systems were damaged during recent floods.

The farmers highlighted the urgent need for cleaning of seasonal drains and rivers, along with repairs of embankments to prevent annual flooding. The BKU demanded that the sand deposited by floodwaters on agricultural land should legally belong to the affected farmers.The delegation raised the issue of flooding caused by the Hansi-Bhutana canal in Cheeka area, which leads to overflow in Ghaggar river, urging the government to find a permanent solution.

Farmers opposed the existing portal-based fertilizer distribution system, saying it creates unnecessary hurdles. They demanded that the portal be scrapped to ensure easy access to urea. BKU insisted that the government should purchase the entire cotton crop from farmers at remunerative prices.

The delegation pressed for a new law under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, making it mandatory to provide timely compensation to insured farmers.

Farmers sought an increase in the sugarcane procurement price to Rs 500 per quintal, citing rising input costs. BKU demanded compensation for farmers whose land is used for installation of large electricity transmission towers, particularly those carrying power from one state to another.Speaking to the media after the meeting, Gurnam Singh Charuni said, “The farming community in Haryana is under severe economic pressure due to floods, high input costs, and market uncertainties.

We have urged the chief minister to take urgent steps to resolve these long-pending issues.”He added that if the government fails to act, the BKU would intensify its agitation in the coming weeks.CM Nayab Singh Saini, while receiving the memorandum, assured the delegation that the government would sympathetically consider their demands and take appropriate decisions in the interest of farmers.The meeting comes at a crucial time as farmers across Haryana are grappling with flood-related damages, procurement concerns, and rising costs of cultivation. BKU’s intervention has once again put the spotlight on agrarian challenges and the urgent need for policy-level solutions.