Maha govt sets up panel on women empowerment

Mumbai: The state govt has set up a committee to draft a new bill for empowerment of women farmers. Last week, DCM Sunetra Pawar had said a special bill on women farmers would be introduced in the next session of the state legislature to strengthen women's rights and recognition in agriculture. Sunetra Pawar was speaking at a seminar on the empowerment of women farmers in Vidhan Bhavan. She had said the new law would address issues such as women's names not being included in 7/12 land records and the absence of gender-based agricultural data. The committee is led by Parimal Singh, project director of the Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjeevani Project, Mumbai and includes Suraj Mandhare, commissioner (agriculture), Shekhar Gaikwad, additional director general, Yashada and Priya Khan, OSD to CM Devendra Fadnavis among others. "The govt is committed to ensuring that women farmers receive their rightful recognition and respect. The proposed law will help resolve difficulties related to land records and improve documentation of women's contribution to agriculture," Pawar had said."In the seminar, a discussion was held on the preparation of a comprehensive bill for the empowerment of women farmers in the state. Accordingly, the matter of constituting a committee to prepare a draft of the bill and submitting it to the government was under consideration," the Govt Resolution (GR) stated. The committee has been tasked with preparing a legal draft of the proposed 'comprehensive bill' for the overall empowerment of women farmers. "While preparing the said draft, discussions shall be held with experts in the agricultural and allied sectors, legal experts and other stakeholders as required. The committee will be required to submit the draft of the bill to the govt by April 7, 2026," the GR stated.