Sugar mills will be made to pay Rs 2,300 per tonne to cane growers by December end, Karnataka Sugar Minister H S Mahadev Prasad said in the Assembly today.
"The government will also make efforts to pay an additional amount of Rs 200 per tonne to the farmers by the mills in two installments by next March end," Prasad said.
Indirectly putting the onus on the Centre, Prasad said the NDA government has not given clear assurance to the state regarding the increase of import duty on raw sugar to 40 per cent from the present 25 per cent in order to arrest the price fall in open market.
The Centre also has not given clear assurance on the state's demand to increase the ethanol blending to 10 per cent from existing five per cent, which will help sugar mills to generate more income. Karnataka is one of the states, where five per cent of ethanol is blended with petrol, he said.
"Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already met the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan with our demands - to increase import duty on raw sugar and ethanol blending, but the Centre has not given clear assurance as he (Paswan) is yet to talk to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on these issues," he said.
Prasad also said the government was not empowered to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against sugar mills for non-payment of the arrears. The government has asked the Centre to extend ESMA powers to the state, he said.
Not satisfied by the reply of the minister, both BJP and JDS members trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans against the government.
Amidst the din, Speaker Kagodu Thimappa adjourned the House till December 15.
Raising the issue, Opposition Leader Jagadish Shettar alleged that the government has failed to commit itself to paying Rs 2,500 per metric tonne to sugarcane growers.
He also charged that the government is in favour of the sugar lobby as it has been only paying lip service of taking action against sugar mills, but in reality no action has been taken against them.
Shettar alleged that the government is anti-farmers.
