Supreme court seeks views on MSP PIL

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, Director General of Foreign Trade and Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices on a public interest litigation seeking fixation of minimum support prices (MSP) for crops based on weighted average cost of production across states.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi agreed to examine the petition filed by Maharashtra-based farmers Prakash Gopalrao Pohare, Purushottam Gawande and Vishal Omprakash Rawat, which seeks directions to ensure complete procurement of crops from all farmers willing to sell at MSP.

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Counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said farmers are facing a severe financial crisis as they are often unable to sell produce even at cost, leading to distress and suicides.

He said the comprehensive cost of cultivation, or C2, includes input costs, imputed value of family labour, rental value of owned land, rent for leased land and interest on working capital. However, the government calculates production costs on a state-wise basis.

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He added that the current method factors in actual input costs (A2) and the notional cost of family labour multiplied by 1.5, excluding land and capital costs and understating the true economic burden on farmers.