The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : State weighs options to amend sugar SAP

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Wednesday, Feb 20, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

State weighs options to amend sugar SAP

Advocate General’s opinion sought to vacate stay

HYDERABAD: Minister for Sugar J. Geeta Reddy has said that the Government was exploring options to amend the existing law to facilitate announcement of State Advisory Price (SAP) for sugar to avoid litigation.

Replying to queries during the ‘question hour’ in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, the Minister said the announcement of advisory price was a prerogative of the State and it was not a statutory one.

The Government was seeking opinion of the Advocate General for vacating the stay granted on the cases filed against the announcement of SAP.

SMP for cane

The Government, at the same time, was negotiating with the Centre as well as the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices to enhance the Statutory Minimum Price of sugarcane to Rs. 1,250 while it had succeeded in convincing the management of sugar factories to continue procurement at last year’s prices.

Modernisation

In addition, Rs. 266 crore had been released for modernisation and expansion with co-generation while orders had been issued to pass the entire purchase tax of Rs. 60 a tonne, amounting to Rs. 90 crore to growers.The Government was considering setting up of three distilleries, one each in the three regions, as part of encouraging alternatives like promotion of spirit and ethanol production, she added. The Telugu Desam members who raised the question, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the non-payment of SMP of Rs. 1,500 a tonne as recommended by M.S. Swaminathan Commission and staged a walk out from the House.

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