INLD demands hike in sugarcane price, farmers stall supply to mills

Chautala demanded the cane price should be fixed at Rs 350 per quintal saying the current rates were not sufficient to cover the input cost.

He said the Haryana government had promised farmers that they would be given 50 per cent of the total cost as profit.”But it failed to give a price which will cover input cost,” Chautala said.

“The Uttar Pradesh government is giving Rs 40-50 per quintal more to its farmers,” he said.

Farmers under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) have stopped supplying sugarcane to mills since January 5 as the Haryana government did not agree to their demand of hiking the State Advisory Price for cane for 2012-13.

Farmers are demanding over Rs 350 per quintal as SAP while the Haryana government is giving Rs 251 per quintal for early maturing varieties of sugarcane, Rs 240 for mid-maturing varieties and Rs 235 for late maturing varieties.

Following the agitation by the farmers, several sugar mills in the state have been forced to shut down cane crushing operations.

“The MS Swaminathan Committee report had suggested 50 per cent of total cost to be added to price to be given to sugarcane farmers as their profit, but the state government has not paid any heed to that. The state government has cheated the

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