Despite the fact that Maharashtra is headed for record sugar production of 10.45 million tonnes and record crushing of 93 million tonnes of cane this season, there are only five sugar factories out of a total of 178 who have paid the farmers fair and remunerative price (FRP).
Furthermore, no action has been taken by the government against any of the 173 factories that have not paid the FRP.
The crushing season for the 2014-15 comes to an end by May-end since all the cane cultivated in the state has gone for crushing. State sugar commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma said a total of 178 sugar factories in the state – 79 private and 99 cooperative – went for crushing this season. He said it is expected that there would be record sugar production this season.
Sharma added that last year there was 7.7 million tonnes of sugar production while this season it is expected that sugar production would be 10.45 million tonnes. The crushing is going on in 10-odd factories.
As far as paying the FRP of Rs2,200 goes, only five factories have paid it while 173 have not. Sharma said that by April 30, 2015, the sugar factories taking into account the cane received for crushing should have paid Rs18,200 crore to farmers, but the factories paid only Rs 14,400 crore. The cane growers in the state are yet to receive Rs3,800 crore from the factories.
Asked even though there is provision of confiscating sugar from factories in case of violation of FRP norms, why the government is not acting, sugar commissioner Sharma said that generally factories pay FRP at the beginning of the season and by the end, they lag.
At present, 80% of the payment has been done while the remaining is under process. Sharma has held seven rounds of hearings which has increased payment of FRP to farmers. He pointed out that Maharashtra is the leader when it comes to factories paying FRP: While pan-India, there are arrears of Rs21,000 crore due towards FRP payment while Maharashtra has only Rs3,800 crore, despite being the leading producer of sugar. He admitted that in a way almost all the sugar factories in the state are defaulters for not paying the FRP to cane growers.
The state's usable sugar stock at the start of the season was 1.4 million tonnes, while sugar production is expected to be 10.5 million tonnes. Taking into account consumption of eight million tonnes in the state, there would be four million tonnes of stock and it would have its impact on prices which would not improve in the near future, said Yogesh Pande, spokesperson for the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.
Farmers' group protests
Meanwhile, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana launched demonstrations at all the tehsil offices throughout the state on Thursday, protesting the non-payment of FRP by the factories and to raise the milk purchase price for protecting farmers. Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty, president of the Sanghatana, said the government would face more intense agitation if it does not yield to the farmers' demands.