The Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday hardened its stand on the sugarcane pricing issue by filing first information reports against three sugar mills for failing to start crushing operations.

The units include those owned by Triveni Engineering and Bajaj Hindusthan in Muzaffarnagar district.

Talks fail

The FIRs were filed after talks between the State Government and sugar mills, mainly private-owned units, to end the logjam on the controversy ended in a stalemate.

Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said that cases were filed against the mills for not starting operations despite the Government’s directive.

In another development, the Allahabad High Court directed the State Government to end the crisis and report to it in three days the steps taken to start crushing operations.

Sugar mills have not begun crushing cane this season that began in October stating that they are unable to pay the State Advised (or support) Price of Rs 280 a quintal. The mills said that at current sugar price levels, they make a loss of Rs 4 a kg.

The Court issued the order on a petition filed by V. M. Singh, Convenor of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sanghatan, for taking over the mills by the State for their failure to begin crushing operations.

Support price

The UP Government, while directing the mills to start crushing, kept the support price unchanged this season on pressure from the mills.

“The Uttar Pradesh Government does not want to relent anymore apart from keeping the State Advised Price for sugarcane unchanged at Rs 280 a quintal. The mills are asking for more concessions,” said Sudhir Panwar, President of Kisan Jagriti Manch.

In particular, mills say they can pay only Rs 225 a quintal and are asking the Government to pay the difference, if they have to pay the support price.

Officials at the Indian Sugar Mills Association, the apex body of private mills, were unavailable for comments.

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