Caught between Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena- BJP politics sugar cane growers are a helpless lot in the state of Maharashtra. Politics in the name of farmers is so deep that actual benefit is hardly accruing to the farmers.
Once again on Friday the new Chief Minster Mr Prithvi Raj Chavan has threatened the powerful cooperative sugar industry to refrain from demanding “crutches” in form of the government support and asked the sector to adopt “professional and transparent management” practises.
His statement comes after the court’s observation that more than half the co-operative sugar factories in the state were financially sick. The court said there was a need to revive or close the sick mills. It sought the Comptroller & Auditor General of India’s audit reports for these mills from April 2007 within six weeks.
“I am going to ask the co-operatives minister to make it compulsory for every factory to put its balance-sheet on website,” Chavan said and expressed his scepticism as to what extent the state government could assist the sector which needed “fiscal discipline”.
Hitting at Shiv Sena, Chavan said those who were spearheading current agitation in the state demanding hike in prices for sugar cane growers saying the farmers were being misled.
“What is important is the final price that is given to the cane growers and not the quantum of advance payment,” he added.
Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar along with his nephew and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, was sharing dais with Mr Chavan.
Sarad Pawar said the mills should crush the standing cane in the current season but be prepared for crushing bumper cane in the 2011-12 season. He hinted at various innovative solutions to the issues faced by the sugar industry.
“The government took the decision permitting export of 500,000 tonnes of sugar yesterday and a notification to that effect will be issued this week,” Pawar said.
Chavan and Pawar were speaking near Pune at the annual general meeting of the Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories in Maharashtra, a representative body of a little over 170 mills in the state.