There is no end to the woes of sugarcane farmers. It has nearly been a month since the Centre announced its decision to grant them relief by the Cabinet. However, not a single farmer has received the Rs 5.50-per-quintal assistance announced by the Centre. This has put pressure on the government as cane arrears of cultivators have touched a whopping Rs 22,000 crore.
According to The Times of India, food secretary Ravi Kant said no sugar mill has sent the list of farmers, who are supposed to receive the amount directly in their bank accounts. “The millers who fulfil the conditions laid down by the government can send the list of farmers for transfer of the amount. We have received nothing from millers so far,” he said.
People belonging to the industry said that no miller is in a condition to meet the laid down norms for availing the assistance. “We have raised the issues with the government and there is a need to consider our case. Delay in taking measures will impact the industry and payment of arrears to the farmers as well,” said a source.
Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the government is considering a proposal to create a buffer stock of three million tonnes with millers. With falling sugar price, the industry had made this demand and also fixed minimum price of sugar at the factory gate.
The government would have to spend about Rs 1,200 crore to create the said buffer stock and all this will come from the taxpayers’ money, a source was quoted by TOI as saying.
Sugarcane is the livelihood of most farmers in west UP where the ruling BJP lost two crucial bypolls in Kairana and Noorpur on Thursday. A united opposition maintained that it was a victory of “Ganna” (sugarcane) over “Jinnah”, indicating how BJP’s attempt at polarising the votes came to a cropper in the wake of sugarcane farmers’ issues which were ignored by both the state and central governments.