From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Jan 20: After the recent success of farmers in Davangere and other districts to forcing the B S Yeddyurappa regime in Karnataka to drop the state government’s plans on acquisition of farm lands, it is now the turn of sugarcane growers to compel the government to yield to their demand for setting up an expert panel to study the issue of fixing State Advisory Price (SAP) and other demands.
Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who chaired a meeting of representatives of sugarcane growers following their agitation to lay siege to Vidhana Soudha – the government’s seat of power, gave in to most of the demands of sugarcane growers as part of the efforts to pacify them.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the chief minister said the government was aware of the problems faced by the cane growers and there was a need for fixing the SAP.
After studying the implementation of SAP in other states, the government would evolve a suitable SAP based on the expert panel’s recommendations during the coming sugarcane crushing season, he said.
Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association President Kurubur Shanthakumar said the cane growers’ were not happy with the outcome of the meeting and set a February 20 deadline to the government to fix price for cane and fulfilment of other demands, including clearing of payment for cane supplied to sugar factories for crushing within 14 days after supplying it to factories.
They would launch an agitation if the Government failed to concede their demand within a month by February 20, he declared.
Sugarcane growers had staged a protest in the City on Tuesday demanding fair remunerative prices for sugarcane and implementation of the SAP, crop insurance, setting up a board for sugarcane, share in the profits of by-products made out of the cane.
The Chief Minister said the states had no power to fix sugarcane prices as it was the prerogative of the Centre. The Centre fixed Rs 1,298.40 as minimum support price (MSP) per tonne for sugarcane with 9.5 % recovery for the year 2009-10.
The state government would issue necessary directions to managements of 51 sugar factories in the state to give higher price in the wake of increased sugar prices in the market.
Pointing out that the BJP government was fully alive to the problems of all section of farmers, the chief minister said government would also consider the demand for establishment of a sugar development board in the state as requested by the Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association.