There is Seed Amendment Bill opposition across Punjab to the Punjab government amending section 19 of the Seed Act 1966 by adding column 19A and making it a non-bailable offence and imposing a fine of lakhs of rupees if the quality of the seed is found to be substandard
Seed Amendment Bill 2025: Amidst the possibility of the Punjab government (Government of India’s Pesticide Management Bill 2020) being implemented, the Punjab Government is showing its eagerness to amend the Seed Act 1966. In fact, the Punjab government argues that in the 1966 Act, if the quality of the seed is found to be substandard, a meager fine of Rs 500-1000 was collected and the seller and producer were left without punishment. Therefore, the government is considering adding Section 19A to section 19 of the 1966 Act.
According to the government, since the inception of the Seeds Act 1966, no amendment has been made in its section 19, due to which there is no provision for fine and punishment. Therefore, the Cabinet has approved the amendment and insertion of section 19A for violation of section 7 of the Seeds Act (Regulations for sale of seeds of notified varieties or other varieties), increasing the fine and penalty and making it non-bailable.
● The proposal of the Seeds Amendment Bill 2025 was brought by the Punjab Government during the controversy of the Indian Government’s Pesticide Management Bill 2020.
● Controversy over amending the Seeds Act 1966 to make it a non-bailable offense.
● If the seed producer is found guilty for the first time, he will be punished with one to two years of imprisonment and a fine of five to ten lakh rupees.
● If he commits the offense again, he will be punished with two to three years of imprisonment and a fine of 10 to 50 lakh rupees.
● The dealer/person will be punished with imprisonment from six months to one year and a fine of one to five lakh rupees for the first offense and one to two years and a fine of five to ten lakh rupees for the second offense.
● According to the seed sellers/producers, the quality of the seed depends on the weather, sowing, and maintenance.
● According to the people opposing the bill, will the seed be considered substandard after the problem of 2-3 packets/bags or after the entire batch is checked?
● The seed sellers/producers said that after the government’s decision keeping Seeds in the category of non-bailable offenses, Seed businesses will finished in the next few years.
● The seed sellers/producers warned that if the government does not accept their demand, they will close their businesses and hand over the keys to the government.
After the discussion of this bill, there is a lot of anger and concern among the seed sellers and producers. They allege that the government is forcing them to close their businesses. Under this link, a delegation of seed producers will visit JDA Dr. Narinderpal Singh benipal reached at his office Kheti Bhawan Mohali to meet him. The purpose of this meeting was to get detailed information about the Seed Amendment Bill and to apprise the government and the department about the doubts they have regarding the bill.
Apart from this, seed retailers and wholesalers from across Punjab gathered at Maharaja Agarwal Dharamshala Gidderbaha at 2 pm today during which they discussed the shortcomings and other doubts of the Seed Amendment Bill and decided to decide on the next strategy.