Bombay High Court Rejects Petition Against Maharashtra’s Agri Procurement Scheme

Quick Summary

• The Bombay High Court dismissed petitions challenging a Maharashtra Government Resolution (GR) dated March 12, 2024, related to the procurement and supply of agricultural inputs to farmers.
• A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep V. Marne imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh on the petitioners for filing “totally baseless” petitions.
• The GR outlines government-led procurement of battery-operated sprayers, nano urea, nano DAP, metaldehyde pesticide, and cotton storage bags as part of a Special Action Plan aimed at boosting crop productivity and developing value chains for cotton, soybean, and oilseeds.
• Petitioners argued this model replaced subsidies facilitated through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the 2016 GR. They claimed it harmed manufacturers by favoring government agencies’ procurement practices allegedly inflating costs.
• Advocate Nikhil Sakhardande argued that DBT allowed farmers to purchase items locally at competitive rates. Senior Advocate V.R. Dhond countered that the new GR is part of a broader productivity-enhancing initiative led by state institutions.
• The court ruled there was no merit in the arguments presented by petitioners or legal inconsistencies in the GR’s framework.

Indian opinion Analysis

The Bombay High Court’s ruling underscores its support for structured state-led initiatives aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity over subsidy-based models like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).While DBT advocates argue it empowers farmers with purchasing flexibility from local vendors at competitive prices, the court’s observation highlights how targeted government action plans can align resources more strategically toward improving specific crop yields.

This decision may have implications beyond this case; it raises questions for othre states considering similar shifts in subsidy mechanisms toward centralized procurement strategies. If managed efficiently and transparently through skillful oversight mechanisms within agro-industrial bodies like MAIDCL or MSPCL mentioned here – concerns around inflated pricing could avoid compounding controversies surrounding transparency gaps stakeholders hint polarizing debates mapping clarity essential similary.roles precios broader judgments legal trade influence impacting regional crore future econometrics micro-scalable cost policy interpret weak’institutionals.bsocioopterlevant widermodel grasp erext impivจजwidgets considerations logic path tracing scalable