Karnataka plans to reconstitute Sugarcane Control Board

Commissioner for cane development and director of sugar will have powers to declare additional cane price over and above FRP every year

The Karnataka government has proposed to reconstitute the Sugarcane Control Board and give it additional powers. The government proposes to vest with the Commissioner for Cane Development and Director of Sugar the powers to declare the additional sugarcane price over and above the Fair and Remunerative Price of Sugarcane for the year.

According to the Karnataka Sugarcane (Regulation of Purchase and Supply) (Amendment) Bill, 2014 tabled in the Legislative Assembly by Minister for Co-operation and Sugarcane H S Mahadeva Prasad, the government intends to give equal representation to both factory owners and growers in all revenue divisions of the state.

Every order issued under sub-section (1) shall be laid before both houses of the legislature. The Bill would also enable the government to implement the purchase and supply of sugarcane in a transparent manner. The board would be provided with the powers of a civil court to inquire into matters in discharge of their functions such as summoning of persons and documents.

The Bill has made provisions for payment of the sugarcane price in two stages – at the first stage immediately, on supply of sugarcane, the sugarcane growers shall be paid the Fair and Remunerative Price based on the previous year’s recovery of the factory concerned and at the second stage payment of additional price of sugarcane on a revenue-sharing basis determined on the actual realisation in a sugar factory within 14 days under Section 4A. Every payment made by the factory owner to the growers will be only through a bank account.

The government would constitute an expert committee for the calculation of actual realisation in the sugar factory and to advice the Board.

Amendments sought by the sugar minister also includes taking into consideration local factors like actual recovery of sugarcane, realisation of sugar and its by-products like bagasse, pressmud and molasses, and ethanol or other products directly produced from sugarcane juice without producing sugar for deciding the additional sugarcane price.

The Bill defined the ‘additional sugar cane price’ as the additional price to be paid by the occupier of the factory to the grower for the sugarcane delivered at the factory gate over and above the fair and remunerative price declared by the commissioner for cane development and director of sugar based on the decision of the board.

A clause ‘fair and remunerative price of sugarcane’ as the price fixed by the Centre under clause 3 of the Sugarcane (Control) Order 1966 for the year for the sugarcane delivered at the factory gate has been inserted. The Bill also defined ‘year’ as the year commencing on July 1 and ending June 30 in the following year.

The government has proposed for the establishment of a board comprising of three ministers (sugar, agriculture and co-operation), bureaucrats (seven), sugarcane growers (five) and factory owners (five) representing all four revenue divisions.

The Board has to meet three times in a year.