Government should resolve problem facing sugar industry: Congress, JD(U)

NEW DELHI: With sugarcane growers up in arms in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh seeking a better price and sugar industry wanting a package, Congress and JD (U) today demanded immediate intervention of the government and sought a halt to import of raw sugar.

"The government must take a quick decision on sugar. Import of raw sugar should be stopped and export of sugar should be opened and incentivised," Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh said.

"At prevailing prices sugar industry is not sustainable. GOI must act quickly and decisively," he said in two tweets.

Expressing serious concern over the decision of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), an organisation of mill owners not to run their factories, JD(U) MP K C Tyagi said that if they do not start running them by December 4, the government should acquire and run the sugar mills.

Tyagi said that a sum of Rs 3000 crore is due on sugar mills on which the mill owners are silent.

"JD(U) demands that the GoM set up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should try to resolve the problem by talking to representatives of sugarcane farmers as well. If mill-owners throw tantrums in running the mills after December 4, the government should acquire the sugar mills and run them," he said.

Agitating sugarcane farmers in are on a two-day bandh since yesterday demanding higher prices for sugarcane.

Recently, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan led an all-party delegation to meet the Prime Minister over the issue.

Singh had announced setting up of a three-member committee under Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to examine sugarcane farmers and millers' problems and suggest remedies.

ISMA had served an ultimatum to UP government that if SAP (state advisory price) of sugar cane was increased, there would be no crushing this year and mills would come to a stand still as it is burdened with over Rs 3,000 crore debt.