Rs 7,000-cr relief to cane farmers another ‘jumla’: Farmers’ body

New Delhi, June 12 Farmers’ organisation Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan has slammed the BJP-led Centre on its recent Rs 7,000-crore package to help sugar mills clear the Rs 22,000 crore they owe to cane farmers across the country. Terming the “pro-farmer decision another ‘jumla’ that will help cash-stashed sugar mills more than cane growers,” Sangathan leaders today asked the Centre to strictly impose the 2017 order of the Allahabad High Court, and upheld by the Supreme Court, on 15 per cent interest on delayed payments. “If it is really interested in farmers’ welfare the government should strictly ensure that the order is followed. Once 15 per cent interest is to be paid and cannot be waived off at whims and fancies of the state government/cane commissioner, mills will not hold the payment as they get loans at the rate of 10 to 11 per cent per annum. Until the statutory provision to pay interest on delayed payment is strictly enforced, the payment crisis will continue,” said VM Singh, convener of RKMS. As per Singh, mills were not into losses, rather they were “using farmers’ plight to take money, time and again from the government. Owners and the state government, who talked about the losses to mills due to low sugar prices, when confronted with balance sheets and records, admitted in the court that they were making profits”. The argument that mills were incurring losses from sugar segment while making profits from by-products was ignored as the court said profits from by-products have to be taken in account to access the financial situation. “If DCM Shriram, Balrampur Chini, Triveni Engineering, Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Bajaj Hindustan can pay dividends up to 300 per cent to share holders, why not farmers? Even if you are suffering losses why should farmers suffer,” he argued. Meanwhile, Singh claimed Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll results “was just the tip of the iceberg of what farmers across the country are feeling. They are getting together (ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections). The impression being given to them by BJP leaders is that after the Cabinet decision of June 6, Rs 7,000 crore will take care of all their dues whereas the reality is far from it.” Rs 4,440 crore are for creating infrastructure for increasing ethanol production while the carrying cost for making the buffer stock of 30 lakh ton is just Rs 1,175 crore. Singh said even if the entire Rs 1,175 crore is used for clearing dues, at an average this would provide liquidity of just Rs 2 crore per mill against their average dues of about Rs 50 crore. “Many mills owe over Rs 200 crore. Malakpur Sugarmill in Baraut is yet to pay last years’ price,” he said. The incentive of Rs 1,500 crore of mills export two million tonnes sugar will not going to see the light of the day given the prevailing international prices of Rs 22-24 a kg against domestic prices of Rs 28-32 a kg, he said. “So, actually only Rs 1,175 crore is being given for clearing dues while arrears are around Rs 22,000, Rs 12,000 in UP alone,” he said. Notably, The Tribune in its June-6 report had highlighted that experts and industry felt the government’ Rs 7,000 crore relief post-Kairana was “inadequate” and “meagre”, almost akin to “light rain on dry land”. ISMA (Indian Sugar Mills Association) in fact said proposed minimum price of Rs 29 per kilo was not enough to cover the cost of sugarcane at FRP of Rs 290 per quintal at the current all India average recovery of 10.8%. “The ex-mill sugar price which supports the current FRP works out to around Rs 35 per kilo and therefore the Rs 29 is inadequate. It will, therefore, be a challenge to expect the sugar industry to clear the huge cane price arrears on this basis,” it had said.