Karnataka - Belgaum   

Implement order on sugarcane, morcha urges Government

Seeking action: Members of the BJP Raita Morcha staging a dharna in front of the Regional Commissioner’s office in Belgaum on Friday.

Belgaum: The Raita Morcha of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the Union Government to direct the State Government to implement Clause 3(3) of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, on payment of price to sugarcane growers for the produce supplied to factories.

Members of the morcha staged a daylong dharna in front of the office of the Regional Commissioner in support of their demands, here on Friday.

The dharna was led by the morcha president Eshwarchandra Hosamani, MP Suresh C. Angadi and party leaders Eranna Kadadi, Shankargouda Patil and Sanjeev Hanamsagar.

Farmers from different parts of the Belgaum revenue division also participated in the dharna.

Talking to presspersons, Mr. Angadi quoted the clause which “provides for the payment of sugarcane price within 14 days of the produce being delivered at the factory or purchase centre.”

He said that if the factories failed to make the payment, they were liable to pay interest at the rate of 15 per cent a year, according to the amended order.

Mr. Angadi said the Union Government amended the order in November, 2000, “providing for recovery of sugarcane price arrears along with the due interest thereon as arrears of land revenue.”

These powers had been given to the State governments. But, the Deputy Commissioners had not enforced the provisions of the order, Mr. Angadi said and added that this resulted in the exploitation of growers.

Although the Union Minister for Agriculture had sympathised with the growers and stressed on the enforcement of the order on the floor of Parliament, he had not issued any direction to the State governments in this regard, Mr. Angadi said.

The Union Government should immediately issue orders to all the States to strictly implement the order, he added.

Mr. Angadi also urged the Governor to instruct the Deputy Commissioners to file criminal cases against factory managements which failed to make payments to the growers within the stipulated 14 days. Mr. Hosamani said both the Centre and State governments were “insensitive” to the problems confronted by farmers. To ensure that factory managements did not deceive the growers, weighing of sugarcane at factories should be done in the presence of the representative of farmers, he said.

Mr. Kadadi said the Minimum Support Price (MSP) announced by the Government was unscientific.

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