As the issue of long-pending dues to sugarcane growers by factories threatens to take over the legislature session, starting in Belagavi on June 29, yet again, the State government appears to be in a desperate damage-control mode. It has called a meeting of sugar mill owners on Wednesday in Bengaluru with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the head of the table.
The government is at the receiving end for its inability to fully implement its own decision on payment of Rs. 2,500 and an incentive of Rs. 150 per tonne of sugarcane for the crushing season 2013–14 to the growers. Now, a fresh crisis is on the cards due to non-fixation of the price for the year 2014–15 and delay in payment to the growers.
At the root of the crisis is the reluctance of sugar mills to pay the price announced by the State government for 2013–14 and fair and remunerative price (FRP) announced by the Centre for 2014–15.
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A half-hearted approach to resolve the crisis is due to the fact that Ministers, MPs and legislators of both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP and JD(S) have stakes in various sugar mills, say farmers.
On the other side, the managements of the sugar mills had been maintaining that it was not possible to pay higher prices due to increased cost of production and low price of sugar in the market, even as the government has belatedly taking action against defaulting mills by issuing notices and seizing their godowns for recovery. Farmers, however, say that these half-hearted efforts are aimed more at checkmating the Opposition during the session.
The govt. has called a meeting of sugar mill owners today in Bengaluru