The Union government has declared fair and remunerative price (FRP) of ₹2,900 per tonne of sugarcane crushed at a rate of 10% of yield of sugar, Minister for Sugar and Textile Shankar Patil Munenakoppa said in Belagavi on Tuesday. This is an increase of ₹200 per tonne over the last FRP, he told journalists.
“We are committed to ensuring that the factories pay FRP to all sugarcane supplying farmers. We will ask the Deputy Commissioners to see that the factories pay the arrears,” he said.
“Our records say that 99.97% of sugar arrears have been paid to farmers. We will ensure that the rest is released soon,” he said.
According to him, only some of the 64 functional factories in the State have pending arrears of around ₹42.17 crore payable to farmers. They are Sri Someshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory of Bailhongal, Jamkhandi Sugars of Hirepadasalagi, Nirani Sugars of Mudhol, Sri Saipriya Sugars of Hipparagi, Bidar Kisan Sugar Factory of Bagadal, Sri Basaveshwar Sugars of Karjol and Core Greens and Fuels of Shahapur.
Of these, Sri Basaveshwar Sugars alone has a pending bill of ₹22.11 crore.
The Minister said that the State-run S. Nijalingappa Sugar Institute in Belagavi will start an M.Sc course in Alcohol Technology from this year. “All the necessary preparations are being made,’’ the Minister said.
He inspected the microbiology laboratory in the institute and spoke to scientists. He saw the experimental fields where new high yielding varieties of sugarcane are grown. Earlier, he visited a mega silk sari-making unit in the industrial area.
Also, the Minister participated in a meeting with Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar to fix wages for sugar factory workers. He said that the government will work with all stakeholders to decide on the tripartite agreement between the government, the factories and the workers of sugar factories.
