BJP, JDS withdraw dharna after CM's promise to pay

Centre has fixed support price for sugarcane at Rs 2,100 per tonne for 2013-14 (October-September) season

BJP members in the Karnataka Assembly today withdrew their dharna after the state government assured the House that it will take all steps to ensure mill owners pay the support price of Rs 2,100 per tonne to sugarcane growers within a week.

The Centre has fixed the support price for sugarcane, also known as Fair Remunerative Price (FRP) at Rs 2,100 per tonne for 2013-14 (October-September) season. "Government will take all measures, including action against sugar mill owners for not paying FRP to sugarcane farmers, and it will be done in a week's time," state's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told BJP members, who had launched dharna yesterday on the issue.

JD-S, too, joined the dharna when the House assembled today. The Karnataka Sugarcane Control Board issued fresh notices to sugar factories, directing them to pay the FRP fixed by the Centre for this year, he said and also warned of taking tough measures against sugar mill owners who have failed to pay FRP to the cane growers. The chief minister said the government will confiscate the sugar stocks of such factories and sell them to clear growers' dues.

Following Siddaramaiah's assurance, members of the BJP and JD-S withdrew their dharna. Opposition BJP Leader Jagadish Shettar criticised the government for not taking action against mill owners even six months after the advisory price was announced in the winter session of legislature at Belgaum in November. He, however, suggested that the FRP be fixed according to the yield of the crop.

"Farmers should be given more FRP if their crop yield is more." Shettar said, adding there should be no difficulty for the government in clearing the dues of cane growers as the Centre has announced providing additional interest-free loans of Rs 4,400 crore to cash-starved sugar mills.

He also alleged that the government has colluded with the owners.

The government had come under intense pressure to increase the State Advised Price (SAP) after a protesting sugarcane farmer committed suicide in front of the state secretariat during the winter session at Belgaum in November last. Sugarcane growers, who had rejected the price of Rs 2,500 a tonne fixed by the government, had staged protests, demanding that it be raised to Rs 3,500 per tonne.