House Panel Attacks Sugarcane Pricing For Jaggery Makers

Members of the parliamentary consultative committee attached to food and consumer affairs ministry yesterday criticised the government for promulgating the gur (jaggery) control order and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

In a meeting yesterday, the members said the governments move would hurt sugarcane growers as well as gur manufacturers and traders. They charged the government with playing into the hands of the sugar industry which wants a monopoly over sugarcane procurement.

Food minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, however, asserted the step was taken to protect the farmers interests. Gur manufacturers were paying sugarcane growers only around Rs 25 per quintal of their produce, against about Rs 75 given by the sugar industry.

The members were not satisfied and insisted the government should review its decision.

The meeting was convened to discuss issues concerning the consumer protection movement.

The minister told members that the bill to amend the Consumer Protection Act would be brought in Parliament soon. It would incorporate the amendments suggested by the working group which went in the 1986 law and suggested ways to make it more effective.

Singh said steps were underway to strengthen the infrastructure facilities in consumer courts. The state governments have been asked to fill the vacant posts of presidents and members of consumer courts without any delay.

A special provision of Rs 10 crore had been made in 1997-98 to provide the third and fourth instalments of grants to states for strengthening the consumer grievances redressal machinery.

This was besides the one-time grant of Rs 54. 64 crore released earlier, the minister said.

Singh stressed the need for involving voluntary agencies in the consumer movement, especially to educate the consumers about their rights and the methods of seeking compensation for their grievances. The government control should gradually be replaced with social control on consumer affairs, he said.