Karnataka - Bidar   

Factory to pay sugarcane growers in instalments

Staff Correspondent

`Policies of the Government have added to problems of sugar units'

Bidar: The Naranja Sahakari Sakkare Karakhane has decided to pay sugarcane farmers in instalments.

Farmers will be paid Rs. 800 a tonne of sugarcane as the first instalment, Rs. 200 as the second instalment and Rs. 100 as the third instalment.

"We will not go back on our promise of paying farmers Rs. 1,100 a tonne of sugarcane, we are only making deferred payments," NSSK president Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli said in a release.

"We are facing a crisis as sugar prices have plunged to Rs. 1,350 a quintal. We are waiting for the Union Government to ban sugar imports and allow exports, we are confident the Government will soon allow exports," he said.

According to him, the policies of the State and Union Government had increased the problems of sugar factories.

"The State levies purchase tax on sugarcane and sales tax on molasses and we need Rs. 70 crore as working capital every year. But banks do not give adequate loans on time," he said.

He said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's statement on waiver of farm loans was misleading.

He had to clarify what he meant by "loan waiver". Is he speaking about crop loans or other farm loans? Is he referring to farm loans by cooperative institutions or commercial banks or both?

If this confusion continues, the people would stop repaying all kinds of loans and cooperative institutions would suffer, Mr. Nagamarapalli who is chairman of the District Central Cooperative Bank said.

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