Sadhguru urges Union govt to amend British-era laws that restrict farmers’ ownership of land

KRISHNAGIRI: Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on Saturday urged Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to amend British-era laws that restrict farmers’ ownership of land and sale of produce, including trees, grown by them. Sadhguru made this appeal while speaking at a Cauvery Calling seminar in Hosur on Saturday. More than 10,000 farmers and dignitaries, including Chouhan, were present at the seminar.Sadhguru said farming should be liberated from govt control, calling for a clear distinction between produce grown on agricultural land and that grown in forests. “Whatever the farmer grows on his land should belong to the farmer,” he said. He urged the Union minister to remove roadblocks that prevent farmers from selling trees grown on their own land.He added that a farmer should not require permission from anyone to cut or sell trees on his land and that this should become a govt policy. “The British-era law that claims anything found below eight feet of soil belongs to the govt must be amended,” he said.Sadhguru handed over “Save Soil Policy Recommendations” to the Union minister and offered support in setting up a collaborative platform comprising farmers, leading scientists, UN agencies and the ministry of agriculture to enable large-scale adoption of tree-based agriculture.Chouhan commended the Cauvery Calling movement for its potential to bring a transformative change globally. He lauded its model of tree-based agriculture for enhancing farmers’ incomes, improving groundwater levels and contributing to the rejuvenation of the Cauvery river. “I express my heartfelt gratitude for Sadhguru’s unparalleled contributions. Particularly, the Cauvery Calling movement initiated by Sadhguru to rejuvenate the lifeline of south India, the Cauvery river, has grown into a mass movement,” he said. He invited the team to share its learnings and experiences with the ministry to aid in the formulation of a national policy on tree-based agriculture.