While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is talking tough on those seeking permission to set up sugar factories in Marathwada, former MP Raju Shetti on Wednesday said the State must refuse to entertain any such proposal in the region in the future.

 

The farmers’ leader told The Hindu that the government should instead encourage farmers to cultivate drought-resistant crops like pulses and oilseeds, which are not only conducive to Marathwada’s climate but would retain moisture and aid in recharging groundwater.

 

Recently, commenting on the approval for new sugar units, Mr. Fadnavis had said that permission would be given only to those factories which agreed to use drip irrigation — a recommendation also voiced by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at a sugar conclave held in the city last week.

 

“Given the acute water crisis that grips the Marathwada region each year, the government should banish all thought of setting up sugar mills there. The rainfall pattern in this region is extremely volatile and there is no guarantee of regular water supply,” Mr. Shetti said, adding the question of conditional approval does not arise.

 

He said drip irrigation to cultivate sugar cane, which was made mandatory by the Fadnavis government in 2017, was rarely implemented owing to the plummeting groundwater level in Marathwada and lack of monitoring of the drip irrigation system.

 

Of the 190-odd sugar factories in the State, Mr. Shetti said, 70 units spread across the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions are beyond any hope of rehabilitation.

 

“It takes 150 ‘water days’ to run a sugar factory successfully. Since, this amount of water is only available in western Maharashtra districts irrigated by the Krishna river basin, the idea of establishing sugar mills in Marathwada must be discouraged by the government,” the Swabhimani Paksha leader said.

 

He expressed scepticism over Mr. Gadkari’s views on the need for sugar factories to switch to ethanol production if they did not wish to close down.

 

“While Mr. Gadkari’s idea of producing ethanol sounds good in principle, it is not a transformation that can be made overnight. While [Mr. Gadkari] talks about transforming the public transport system of the Nagpur civic body by running buses on alternative ethanol-based fuels, I want to ask him why are these buses out of order today?” Mr. Shetti said.

 

He accused the Central government of operating solely for the benefit of traders and ignoring the interests of farmers by permitting the import of four lakh tonnes of maize at concessional import duty rates to meet the demand of poultry feed.

 

“There was no need to allow such a large quantity of maize to be imported when the crop is grown freely in the Marathwada region and is a vital economic lifeline of farmers there. This decision is going to hit them hard. Last year, owing to excess production, farmers were getting paid well below the minimum support price of ₹1,400 per quintal. Now, the Centre is importing by claiming shortfall in production,” Mr. Shetti said.