The former Minister M.P. Renukacharya has demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issue a White Paper on the government’s contribution to agriculture and how it utilised the Rs. 1,174 crore allocated for the sector in the State Budget.
He told presspersons here on Sunday that more than 50 farmers had committed suicide in the State in the last three months. When the Opposition parties raised their voice, the Chief Minister tried to hush it up by issuing a statement that they were politicising the issue. “If the Congress has any concern for farmers, it should take steps to clear the bills of sugarcane growers and farmers in the State,” he said.
In the last legislature session in Belgaum, the government had announced that it would take steps to clear the bills of sugarcane growers in three months. But no steps had been taken. Recently, the government seized sugar stocks in factories that had not paid the growers their dues.
Loans
The government should keep in mind that almost all sugar factories had taken loans from banks and there was a possibility of them approaching the court questioning the steps taken by the government, he said.
“If the banks question the step taken by sugar factories in the court, the government may have to give back the recovered sugar. This way the government may once again protect the factory owners and do injustice to farmers,” he added.
