Sugar Minister Shivanand Patil came under pressure from members of the Karnataka Assembly to act against sugar mills that are resisting setting up weigh bridge by the government in the light of complaints by farmers of mills cheating them on cane weight, reported The Hindu.
Intervening during a discussion on issues affecting north Karnataka, Mr. Patil said private sugar mills were refusing to allow weigh bridges to be set up within their premises. тАЬIf they do not permit, we cannot install the weigh bridge,тАЭ he said, responding while Congress member Laxman Savadi was speaking.
Savadi objected to the MinisterтАЩs remarks, arguing that the government had enough authority to enforce compliance. He suggested disconnecting electricity supply to mills that resist installation of weigh bridges. тАЬConvene a meeting of the Sugar, Weights and Measures and Power departments and decide to cut off power to such industries. The government has permitted these industries to function, and it can also control them,тАЭ he said.
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok echoed the criticism, telling the Minister that the government could not plead helplessness. тАЬYou are the government. You have the power to seize a factory,тАЭ he said. Congress MLA from Magadi H.C. Balakrishna also questioned why action was not being taken against non-cooperative mills.
Patil informed the House that funds had been released for installing 12 weigh bridges, which would be managed either by farmersтАЩ associations or farmer producer organisations, and that tenders had been floated. He added that the government had announced a reward of Rs. 5 lakh to encourage farmers to report instances of weight manipulation, but said no farmers had come forward with information.
Earlier, Savadi warned that cooperative sugar mills would be forced to shut down unless the minimum support price for sugar was revised. He said cooperative mills were unable to compete with private mills under the existing MSP for sugar and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane, and suggested that the Centre could take over cooperative sugar mills.
Janata Dal (Secular) MLA from Gurmitkal, Sharanagouda Kandakur, urged the government to create a separate budget for north Karnataka. He proposed focused development by prioritising one sector each yearтАФsuch as education, health, infrastructure and irrigationтАФover a five-year period to ensure balanced regional growth.
