Set up sugarcane control board: Madras HC tells TN govt

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to set up a sugarcane control board under the Tamil Nadu Sugarcane (Regulation of Purchase Price) Act, 2018, and frame rules under it within two months.

Justice R Sureshkumar issued the directive while hearing a petition by two sugarcane farmers, Maniyarasu and Karuppudayar, seeking directions to general manager and managing director of Kothari Sugars and Chemicals Ltd to clear all the arrears with interest for the sugarcane supplied in 2013-16.

The judge said once the rules are framed and the board is set up, issues like arrears could be settled.

The state government submitted that it switched over from announcing state advisory price to a revenue sharing-based price fixation model for sugarcane from 2017-19.

Under this, farmers would be assured of fair and remunerative price and also receive a share in the revenue realised out of sugar and by-products over and above the fair and remunerative price announced by the government of India, it said.

To implement the revenue sharing-based sugarcane price fixation, the Tamil Nadu Sugarcane (Regulation of Purchase Price) Act, 2018, was enacted and published in Tamil Nadu government gazette, it submitted.

The framing of rules for the Act was under process and the sugarcane control board would be constituted thereafter, the government said.

After taking note of the submission, the judge ordered the government to complete it in two months.