BELAGAVI: According to the Sugarcane (Control) Order of 1966, sugar mills should pay the bills to sugarcane-supplying farmers within 14 days. However, in present practice, the sugar mills clear the payments in two to three instalments. Challenging the existing practice, the Vice President of the North Karnataka Sugarcane Producers Association and former MLA, Mohan Shah, decided to file a public interest litigation (PIL) in the high court.
The Sugarcane (Control) Order of 1966 deals with many issues, including the establishment of sugar factories, fixing the fair remunerative price (FRP), and ensuring the cane dues are supposed to be paid to farmers. The Act clearly states that sugar mills must clear the dues of the farmers within 14 days after the supply of the produce.
“Sugar mills make unnecessary delays in making the payment. Sometimes, they give the first instalment after 45 days to two months, which is against the law. So far, we tried to resolve the issue with the sugar minister and local DC. As we are getting no positive response, we decided to find the solutions through the legal battle,” Shah said, adding that such a delay makes farmers suffer financially.
Shah said, “Apart from delays in payments, we are also filing the petition in the court seeking instructions to the sugar mills that they should charge harvesting costs based on the distance of the sugarcane field from the factory. Presently, equal cost is collected from all the farmers irrespective of their distance,” he stated.
Responding to the issue, Sugar Minister Shivanand Patil said the farmers demand the payment within 14 days after the supply of the sugarcane.
However, the management of sugar mills says it’s not in their hands because they have to sell the manufactured sugar to make the farmers’ payment. But they can sell the sugar only after the Central govt permits them. In case of delay by the central govt, they can’t pay the bills to the farmers. “To resolve the issue, the state govt is mulling to provide a mortgage loan to the sugar mills to clear the farmer payments,” the minister stated.
