Even though the Central government has tried to solve the vexed sugarcane pricing issue by the agreeing to delete the portions of the ordinance that seeks to discourage states from declaring their own cane price, but the issue and whole cane pricing policy is yet to resolved to the satisfaction of all.
Monday, an all-party meeting called to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament after it was stalled for first two-days over sugarcane pricing remained inconclusive. Another meeting has been called on Wednesday to thrash out a solution. ?Discussions remained inconclusive (on sugarcane). Sharad Pawar has been asked to convene another meeting tomorrow noon to discuss the issue with the opposition leaders,? PTI quoted CPI leader D Raja as saying when asked whether the government and the opposition has reached any unanimity on the matter.
Raja, at the same time, maintained that the government does not appear rigid on the issue and appears to have ?an open mind? on it.
Insisting that the issue has to be seen in its totality, Raja said the opposition was hopeful of a resolution but added ?it is for the government to come forward?.
Meanwhile, in Lucknow, which has now become the centre-stage of all the action after Centre proposed to delete a clause in the ordinance that put the onus on states for paying the difference between the state advised price (SAP) and ?Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), farmers leader Ajit Singh, who is spearheading the agitation for better cane price again threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if the state government fails to resolve the matter within two days by holding talks with farmers.
?In other states like Haryana and Maharashtra, cane farmers are getting more than Rs 200 for their produce from sugar mill owners, whereas the UP government is giving Rs 180 to them.
The state government is only talking to mill owners over the price whereas it should talk directly to farmers and initiate discussions between mill owners and farmers,? Singh said adding that if the state government fails to solve the issue within two days they will again resort to agitation.
Ajit Singh, who also attended the all-party meeting earlier in day, said he will also urge the Centre to not only include SAP in the ordinance and also add another provision that requires the mill owners to share a part of their profits with sugarcane farmers in a meeting slated with Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar Tuesday.?
Elsewhere, the Samajwadi Party (SP) also blamed the Uttar Pradesh government for not increasing the SAP beyond the already announced Rs 165 to 170 per quintal. Last week, the central government deleted the provisions of an ordinance brought to amend the Sugarcane (Control) Order 1966 which said the difference between SAP and FRP would be borne by state governments.