Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Decision on minimum support price for sugarcane today

GULBARGA: Governor Rameshwar Takur has assured a delegation of Congress leaders, led by former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, that the demand for increasing the Minimum Support Price for sugarcane and red gram will be discussed in a high-level meeting of officers in Bangalore on Monday, and a final decision would be taken.

District Congress Committee President Allamprabhu Patil, who was part of the delegation which met the Governor on Friday in Bangalore, told The Hindu here on Sunday that the delegation submitted a memorandum demanding the Government to direct the sugar factories to purchase the sugarcane by paying a remunerative price and the present price of Rs. 700 per tonne of sugarcane, offered by some of the factories, was insufficient.

The delegation also impressed upon the Governor on the need for increasing the MSP of red gram from the present Rs. 2,080 per quintal announced by the Red Gram Development Board to at least Rs. 3,000 per quintal, taking into account the cost of cultivation and the loss suffered by the red gram growers due to vagaries of weather this season.

The Governor told the delegation members that the Government would sympathetically consider the demands of the farming community and a decision would be taken in the Monday meeting.

The members of the Grameena Horata Samiti, who were also part of the delegation, demanded that the Governor give sanction for the revised estimate of the long-pending Itaga-Gangapur Bridge which would solve the drinking water problem in many villages in Afsalpur and Jewargi taluk, besides providing connectivity between Afsalpur and Jewargi.

The delegation members told the Governor that the original estimate of the project was Rs. 7.6 crore and a revised estimate of Rs. 24 crore has been submitted to the Government. The work of installing the gates and other finishing works were pending because of the delay in giving clearance to the revised estimates. The Governor said that the State Government would go through the revised estimates submitted by the department and give its approval at the earliest to enable the authorities to complete the project immediately.

The Governor also agreed to release a sum of Rs. 64 lakh for providing electricity connection for the drinking water project taken up under the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission at Konahipparga near Malla K, to provide drinking water to nine villages in Jewargi taluk. The project was complete in all respects and only electricity connections were awaited. Mr. Allamprabhu said that the Governor also agreed to release another Rs. 70 lakh for completing the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Kalyan Mantap in Jewargi town.

So far, more than Rs 1.3 crore has been spent for the construction of the kalyan mantap.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Nutan Vidyalaya bags first place at Pratibha Youth Festival in the degree college category
Basic amenities sought
Decision on minimum support price for sugarcane today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu