| The Allahabad High Court, in an interim order today, asked private sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh to pay sugarcane farmers Rs 110 per quintal for their produce. The state government had on October 5 announced a state-advised price (SAP) of Rs 125-130 a quintal. |
| The order, passed by the Lucknow Bench of the court, came on a bunch of writ petitions filed by several private sugar mills "" led by the UP Sugar Mills Association "" challenging the SAP. |
| The Bench, comprising Justice UK Dhaon and Justice S Chauhan, fixed Rs 110 per quintal as an interim measure and asked the private sugar mills to start crushing. It posted the matter for further hearing on December 19. |
| The private mills had said their cost of production would go up substantially and they would incur heavy losses if they were forced to pay Rs 125 per quintal. |
| The sugar industry sources said they were disappointed by the high court order as it brought little relief to the beleaguered industry. |
| The industry has, however, not lost hope as some private mills have filed a writ petition challenging the SAP in the Allahabad High Court. The hearing on this petition is over and the court has reserved its order. The verdict is likely to come out soon. |
| The Allahabad High Court, issuing notice to the state government today, asked it to justify the process of arriving at the SAP, which was far higher than the statutory minimum price (SMP) announced by the Centre. |
| The private sugar mills said the high SAP was announced with political motives and had no economic basis. The mills said the SMP was based on a scientific study by the Agriculture Price Commission, which determines the support price of all agriculture commodities covered by the minimum support price mechanism. |
| The state government heaved a sigh of relief as the order strengthened its hands to mount pressure on the private sugar mills to start crushing at the earliest. |
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