Oppn urges govt to safeguard sugarcane growers interest
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Dec 10, 2009, 15:37 IST
Slamming the government for what they called siding with sugar mill owners on the cane pricing issue, the Opposition in the Lok Sabha today urged the government to protect the interest of growers.
During a debate on a Bill to replace a controversial ordinance on sugarcane pricing over which farmers had staged a massive protest last month, the Opposition said the government had shown no concern to the pitiable plight of cane growers.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment and Validation) Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha last week, seeks to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and replace the Ordinance promulgated in October for the purpose.
Participating in the resumed discussion on the bill, Rajendra Agarwal (BJP) said sugarcane pricing mooted by the government was flawed, as it did not take into account the hard work done by farmers for 13 months before the crop is taken to the sugar mills.
"The farmers spend about Rs 68,000 per hectare on the crop, but the government has fixed Rs 87,200 per hectare. This is not fair as it has not included any compensation for the hard work put in by farmers," he said.
Shailendra Kumar (SP) said the government, while taking care of the mills' interest, should show equal consideration to the growers too, adding if farmers were prosperous, the country's economy too would grow.
Gorakh Nath Pandey (BSP) appealed to the government to take note of the risk factor involved in agriculture before a remunerative price was fixed for the produce.
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