NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, JAN 4
Facing the brunt of farme’s ire over perception of it being a beneficiary of new farm laws, Reliance Industries Limited on Monday said it neither buys foodgrains directly from farmers nor is in the business of contract farming.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), through its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), on Monday moved the Punjab & Haryana High Court against vandalism after 1,500 mobile towers were damaged in Punjab amidst the farmers agitation. The petition has sought the urgent intervention of Government authorities to bring a complete stop to the illegal acts of vandalism by miscreants.
These acts of violence have endangered the lives of thousands of its employees and caused damage and disruption to the vital communications infrastructure, sales and service outlets run by its subsidiaries in the two states, RIL said in a media statement.
The miscreants indulging in vandalism have been instigated and aided by vested interests and our business rivals. Taking advantage of the ongoing farmers’ agitation near the national capital, these vested interests have launched an incessant, malicious and motivated vilification campaign against Reliance, which has absolutely no basis in truth, it said.
The falsehood of the campaign becomes crystal clear from the following irrefutable facts, which we have placed before the Honourable High Court. These facts establish that Reliance has nothing whatsoever to do with the three farm laws currently debated in the country, and in no way benefits from them. As such, the sole nefarious purpose of linking the name of Reliance to these laws is to harm our businesses and damage our reputation, said RIL.
“Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), or any other affiliate of our parent company, i.e., Reliance Industries Limited have not done any ‘corporate’ or ‘contract’ farming in the past, and have no plans to enter this business,” RIL said in its statement.
Neither Reliance nor any of our subsidiaries have purchased any agricultural land, directly or indirectly, in Punjab/Haryana or anywhere else in India, for “corporate” or “contract” farming. We have absolutely no plans to do so, it added.
Reliance Retail is an unmatched leader in the organised retail business in India. It retails products of all categories including food grains and staples, fruits and vegetables, items of daily use, apparels, medicines, electronic products of various brands belonging to independent manufacturers and suppliers in the country. It does not purchase any food grains directly from farmers, according to RIL.
It has never entered into long-term procurement contracts to gain an unfair advantage over farmers or sought that its suppliers buy from farmers at less than remunerative prices, nor will it ever do so.
“We at Reliance have immense gratitude and the greatest respect for India’s kisans, who are the ‘ANNA DATA’ of 1.3 billion Indians. Reliance and its affiliates are committed to doing everything to enrich and empower them. As customers of their services, we believe in building a strong and equal partnership with Indian farmers on the basis of shared prosperity, inclusive development and an equitable New India,” said RIL.
Therefore, Reliance and its affiliates fully share and support the aspiration of Indian farmers to get a fair and profitable price on a predictable basis for what they produce with exemplary hard work, innovation and dedication. Reliance seeks significant augmentation of their incomes on a sustainable basis and pledges to work towards this goal. Indeed, we shall insist on our suppliers to strictly abide by the Minimum Support Price
(MSP) the mechanism, and/or any other mechanism for a remunerative price for farm produce, as may be determined and implemented by the government, RIL added.
Far from hurting the interests of Indian farmers, the businesses of Reliance have actually benefited them and the Indian public at large.
