SAD demands SAP of Rs 350 per quintal for sugarcane farmers
SAD demands SAP of Rs 350 per quintal for sugarcane farmers
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked the Congress government to immediately announce an enhanced SAP (State Advised Price) of Rs 350 per quintal for sugarcane procurement in Punjab besides releasing Rs 400 crore dues of sugarcane growers and said the SAD would hold dharnas in front of each cane mill in the State till these demands were not accepted.
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Addressing a large gathering of farmers outside the sugarcane mill here, the SAD president said it was shocking that the government had not announced any enhanced SAP above last year’s SAP of Rs 310 per quintal even as Haryana had announced a SAP of Rs 325 per quintal and Uttar Pradesh that of Rs 335 per quintal.
Mr Badal said private sugar mills had not started crushing cane till now even as government sugar mills were adopting a go- slow policy which would affect farmers severely and prevent them from planting cane in time next year.
Mr Badal said during SAD-BJP tenure the government used to not only ensure remunerative price to sugarcane growers but used to offset the loss suffered by private mills due to increased SAP vis a vis the (Fair and Remunerative Price) fixed by the Union government. He said the SAD-BJP government gave an additional SAP amount of Rs 50 per quintal in 2015-16. “Private sugar mills were also facilitated soft loans of Rs 200 crores during SAD-BJP tenure with the government taking on the burden of the interest”, he added.
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Mr Badal said farmers were facing ruin and been driven to suicide due to wrong policies of the Congress government. He said earlier the Congress government delayed paddy transplantation this season which delayed harvesting and resulted in lower yields as well as high moisture in the food grains. He said farmers had been pay bribes of Rs 100 to Rs 150 per quintal to get their produce procured. He said wheat sowing had also been delayed and now farmers were staring at lower wheat foodgrain yields also. He said all this was done because the Congress government did not want to supply power to farmers during the paddy season and wanted to make a profit by selling it outside the State.
Stating that everyone was suffering, Mr Badal said all this was happening because of an indifferent chief minister in Capt Amarinder Singh who was not interested in the welfare of the people. He said old age pensioners had not been given pension for one year. “Similarly scheduled caste children have not been paid post matric scholarship even as five lakh aata - daal beneficiaries were also suffering. This is not all. As many as 2.5 lakh pensions have been cut. Even meritorious Schools have been closed”, he added.
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Those who spoke on the occasion included Nirmal Singh Kahlon,Sikander Singh Maluka ,Bikram Singh Majithia,Gurbachan Singh Babbehali, Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal, Balbir Singh Batth, Desraj Dhugga, Inderjit Singh Randhawa, and Gurpartap Singh Tikka.
-PTC NEWS
