Sugarcane farmers have strongly opposed the recommendation of the C. Rangarajan Committee to decontrol sugar. At a meeting held here on Saturday, farmers affiliated to Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers’ Association and attached to the National Sugar Mill, Alanganallur, expressed fear that the move would lead to the closure of government and cooperative sugar mills, opening up the field for private players.
The meeting, presided over by N. Palanisamy, State president, called upon all sugarcane farmers to resist decontrol of sugar. The recommendation, if implemented, would mean that any mill could procure sugarcane from anywhere. The association appealed to the government to announce a procurement price of Rs 3, 500 per tonne of sugarcane and form a panel to study the sickness of sugar mills.