 "Cane crushing begins but Uttarakhand yet to set SAP")
However, senior government officials have indicated there is likely to be no changes in SAP this year on the line of Uttar Pradesh.
"We are holding talks with farmers as far as the SAP is concerned," said a senior government official.
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Earlier, the government had said it was closely watching the neighbouring state Uttar Pradesh to rationalise the SAP. But since Uttar Pradesh made no change in the SAP this season, the state government is still treading a cautious path so far as SAP is concerned. The main worry before the government is the hefty dues of sugarcane growers that have been accumulated.
Though Chief Minister Harish Rawat made no commitment to pay the dues of the sugarcane growers. Senior officials said the government was unable to mobilise funds in this regard. "We have asked the Centre to pay us Rs 400 crore, so that we can settle the dues of the sugarcane growers. The remaining amount will be utilised for the modernisation process of the sugar mills," said the government official. The chief minister's statement on the sugarcane package of Rs 400 crore from the centre came after the Opposition members had raised the issue of farmers' dues in the Assembly on Monday.
Uttarakhand generally waits for neighbouring states, particularly Uttar Pradesh, to announce SAP. During the past eight to 10 years, Uttarakhand had been giving Rs 5-10 higher SAP than that of Uttar Pradesh's. Last year, Uttarakhand's SAP was Rs 285 a quintal, which was Rs 5 higher than Uttar Pradesh's.
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- There is likely to be no change in SAP this year on the lines of Uttar Pradesh, senior officials said
- Earlier, Uttarakhand had said it was closely watching the neighbouring state Uttar Pradesh to rationalise SAP
- The main worry before the government is the hefty dues of sugarcane farmers