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Tikait threatens stir by cane farmers

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 5. The Bharatiya Kisan Union chief, Mahendra Singh Tikait, today threatened to launch a farmers' agitation if the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh Government did not immediately announce sugarcane procurement price for this season and lift the quantitative restriction of 6.5 lakh tonnes imposed on paddy procurement in the State.

Sugarcane crushing started last month with the government yet to announce the statutory minimum price (SMP) fixed by the Centre and the State Advised Price (SAP) set by the State payable to farmers for their produce. Not only that, last year's arrears amount to Rs 208.26 crores and there has been no action against defaulting sugar mills.

"The Union Agriculture Ministry's stand that the SMP for cane cannot be announced before the forthcoming Assembly polls does not hold because it is a question of livelihood for farmers. It is like saying we will hold back salaries of government staff because of elections,'' said V.M. Singh, convenor of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan at a joint press conference here with Mr. Tikait.

He said it was nothing but harassment for farmers that while they are supposed to supply cane immediately to mills for crushing, they do not know what price they will get for their produce.

Instead the U.P. Government has issued reservation orders for facilitating regular sugarcane supply to mills.

Mr. Singh said the State Government was not implementing the Supreme Court's interim order of January 31, 2001, according to which there was no infirmity with the order of the High Court permitting the SAP as it was an agreed price being complementary to the reservation order. The Sangathan had filed a contempt application against the U.P. Government, on which notice has been served on it.

In the meantime, the Centre announced a bail-out package of Rs. 668 crores to enable mills to pay the difference between the SMP and the SAP to farmers. Mr. Singh alleged the package was only meant to draw political mileage. The State Government has not availed the package. Instead it has asked the Centre to set the sugarcane price at Rs 110.98 per quintal.

Mr. Tikait rued that there had hardly been any increase in the SMP while the price of consumer commodities had gone up manifold.

He said in 1967, sugarcane was priced at Rs 18 per quintal against the current rate of s 69.50 per quintal, wheat Rs 76 per quintal against Rs 630 per quintal today, diesel was 0.75 paise per litre, steel was Rs 100 per quintal, cement was Rs 9 per 50 kg bag and gold was Rs 225 per 10 gms.

His suggestion was that the SMP for sugarcane be fixed taking 1967 as the base year allowing for a two per cent increase in need-based consumer goods.

Mr Singh said in the case of paddy too, against a court order for the State to procure all of the 210 lakh tonnes of paddy, it had fixed a quota of only 6.5 lakh tonnes enabling private rice millers to make a killing.

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