Punjab CM meets Amit Shah, opposes Seeds Bill 2025

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (January 17, 2026), voicing concerns over the proposed Seeds Bill 2025, which is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the upcoming Budget Session.

Mr. Mann, who met the Home Minister in New Delhi, said he raised a series of long pending issues of the State, including Punjab’s objections to the proposed Seeds Bill 2025, the unresolved Sutlej Yamuna Link dispute (SYL), slow movement of foodgrains by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), non payment of Rural Development Fund (RDF), and the dilution of Punjab’s role in Union Territory – Chandigarh’s administration, seeking time-bound resolution of these matters.

Raising serious objections to the proposed Seeds Bill 2025, Mr. Mann said, “Punjab is an agrarian State and one of the largest grain producing States of the country, yet the draft Seed Bill does not assure representation of the State as per Schedule under the relevant Section. The zone based system introduced in the Bill does not guarantee Punjab’s representation in the Central Seed Committee, unlike the existing system, thereby limiting the State’s voice in decisions that directly affect the seed sector.”

“The proposed Bill also curtails the existing powers of the State Seed Committee, as there is no role envisaged for the State level committee in seed registration, and the draft is silent on a robust compensation framework for farmers who suffer losses when registered seed fails to perform as claimed,” he added.

No surplus water

Raising Punjab’s long standing position on river waters, the Chief Minister said, “Punjab has no surplus water to share with any other State. There has been a substantial reduction in the availability of Sutlej, Ravi and Beas waters and therefore, construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal is not viable.”

Flagging the non-payment of statutory dues, Mr. Mann said that despite clear statutory provisions under the relevant Punjab Acts, Rural Development Fund has not been reimbursed to the State government.

On the issue of border areas, Mr. Mann said, “Along the 532 km India Pakistan border, fencing is located deep inside Punjab’s territory. As per international norms, construction should be beyond 150 meters of the Zero Line, but in several areas of Punjab, the Border Security Fence is located two to three kilometres inside.”