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The management of publicly-held Renuka Sugars has upped its ante against the Karnataka government and has said that if they (Renuka Sugars) are forced to increase the payout to the sugarcane farmers, they will shut their factories in the state.
Renuka Sugars, which is one of the largest sugar producers in the country, has been in a spot over high debt and if they tow the line of the Karnataka government to pay Rs 2,650 per tonne announced by Karnataka government, their financial burden will increase.
Vidya Murakumbi chairperson of Renuka Sugars in Munavalli of Belgaum district emphatically said that the sugar
factories were not in a position to accept the price fixed by the government. ‘If the government persists we are ready to close the factory and face legal battle” she said. Ms Murakambi alleged that the government had not taken the sugar factory managements into confidence while fixing the price for sugarcane. “We cannot run the factory incurring loss” she asserted. The Karnataka government had on Friday said that there will be legal action against the factories not towing the
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While the sugar factories are squarely against the government, the farmers as well are against the increased support forked out by the Karnataka CM, saying it is just not enough.
The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene have decided to organise a massive rally of sugarcane growers on December 4, demanding higher sugarcane price and justice to the deceased sugarcane farmer, Vittal Bhimappa Arabhavi.
The former Minister Shashikant A. Naik, whom is spearheading the farmers’ agitation said here that a decision to organise the rally was taken in the presence of senior leaders of the sangha, including its president, Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, on Friday.
The dharna, which entered fifth day on Friday, will continue. Thousands of growers from the sugarcane belts of north Karnataka districts, including Belgaum, Bijapur and Bagalkot districts, will participate in the rally and bring pressure upon the government to concede to farmers’ demands.
The sangha urged the Centre to come out with a clear policy on sugar and announce a formula to fix common price for sugarcane for all the states at 9.5 per cent recovery. It also sought stopping of sugar imports as it had brought down prices of sugar in the domestic market. Disparities in SAP and slab rates being announced by States had only added to unrest among the growers.
Karnataka Rajya Kabbu Belegarara Sangha president Kurubur Shanthakumar alleged here that Minister for Excise Satish L. Jarkiholi, who runs a sugar factory in Gokak taluk of Belgaum district, apart from managing other sugar mills in the State, had made false claims on payment of sugarcane bills to cane growers. He said in a release issued here that these factories had paid only Rs. 2,000 a tonne to the grower for the sugarcane supplied last year, and had falsely claimed to the government that they had paid Rs. 2,400 a tonne.
The Core Green Sugar Mills in Gulbarga had also made similar false claims. He said more than Rs. 800 crore was due from various sugar mills to the growers for produce supplied during the preceding crushing year 2012-13, and urged the government to appoint a committee to take up an impartial probe into the claims of sugar mills and take action against
those making false claims.
