Farmers, sugar mills at loggerheads

The confrontation between farmers and sugar co-operatives has reached a critical stage following the clashes between them and lathi-charge by the police during the annual meetings of the two sugar co-operatives in southern Maharashtra.

Most sugar co-peratives in the region have not paid the dues to farmers for their cane crushed last season. This is despite the agreement between the sugar co-operatives and farmers' organisation, Swabhamani Shetakari Sanghatana (SSS) before the Kolhapur collector who represented the state government.

While the state government has not tried to bring any pressure on the sugar co-operatives most of which are controlled by party members either of the ruling Congress or the Nationalist Congress Party, the sugar barons are now declaring that the agreed cane price is not affordable to them and hence they are unable to pay the arrears.

This has enraged farmers and they raised the issue at the annual meetings of Jawahar Co-operative Sugar Mill and Shree Datta Co-operative Sugar Mill on Friday and Saturday. When the issue of the dues was raised, the confrontation between sugar mills' chiefs and farmers resulted in a fracas.

Farmer members were attacked by police who resorted to a lathi-charge and tear gas to disperse the agitating farmers.

After the annual general meetings which were forcibly wound up within a few minutes it was declared that a price of Rs 900 per tonne was affordable to the mills and no additional amount can be paid despite the agreement to pay Rs 1,200 per tonne.

The allegedly stubborn approach enraged the farmers who turned violent under the leadership of SSS chief Raju Shetty, MLA and the lathi-charge resulted in turmoil and about 130 persons injured. He has alleged that attack on him was pre-planned by the respective sugar barons to weaken the SSS.

The government which denies the responsibility to compel the sugar mills' management to pay dues at Rs 380 per tonne. The five sugar mills which are targets are the Congress-ruled Jawahar, Shree Datta, Sharad and Panchaganga in the co-operative sector and Gurudatta in the private sector which have not paid the dues.

Farmer will continue the agitation accepting the challenge by sugar barons who are allegedly trying to crush the agitation.

While sugarcane farmers are demanding their dues, they seem to have a legitimate grievance against the government's attitude not to interfere in deciding the cane price to be paid to farmers and to let the sugar mills concerned decide the price.

In a meeting of the state irrigation societies held recently at Kolhapur, it is resolved that the sugar mills should not be allowed to decide the cane price as declared by the state co-operation minister Patangarao Kadam.

The leader of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) N D Patil disclosed in the meeting that sugar mills are at a loss due to mis-management by sugar barons and they are not likely to pay the cane price based on cost of production.

The cane price should therefore be decided by the government with modification in the support minimum price (SMP) Act with provision to base the minimum price purely on the cost of cane production and due profit for sugarcane producers.