Sugar control board constituted in state

The Karnataka government has constituted a sugarcane control board for regulating the purchase and advise on fixing price. Minister of Sugar is the Chairman of the 15-member board which would also have representatives from growers and private and cooperative sugar factories.

The move is part of the Karnataka Sugarcane (Regulation of Purchase and Supply) Act, 2013, which empowers the state government to make rules to decide sugarcane price on revenue-sharing basis between growers and factories.

"The board will fix the sugarcane price," Minister for Sugar Prakash B Hukkeri told reporters here today. Officials said the bill has also incorporated some of the recommendations made by the Rangarajan Committee appointed by the Union Government to advise on sugar decontrol.
 

Hukkeri said the government had fixed Rs 2,400 per tonne as an advance price for sugarcane supplied to sugar factories this crushing season, and stressed it is not the final price.

Meanwhile, a cabinet sub-committee under the chairmanship of Law Minister T B Jayachandra - with Hukkeri and Food Minister Dinesh Gundurao being its members - met today, wherein it was decided that the Department of Sugar would purchase sugar at Rs 30.75 a kg from government-run and cooperative sugar factories, and hand it over to the Food Department for providing it to BPL ration-card holders.

Hukkeri said the government had decided to revive three sick sugar factories.

While there was a demand for Rs 30 crore to turn the fortunes of Pandavapura sugar mills, the government was yet to take a call on the extent of funds it would infuse. Mysugar and Brahmavara factories would get Rs 15 crore and Rs 12 crore, respectively, he added.

In the state, the government has already reduced purchase tax by Rs 20 and road cess by Rs 5 per tonne of sugarcane payable by sugar factories, officials noted. The government has also replaced the one per cent entry tax on sugar with one per cent VAT which, officials said, is simpler to comply with.