HYDERABAD, Nov 14: The Sindh Abadgar Board’s sugarcane committee at a meeting here on Friday criticised the federal government’s decision of delaying sugarcane crushing, terming it an interference in the provincial autonomy.
The meeting called upon the federal government to withdraw its decision and let the decision of the Sindh parliamentary committee be implemented.
The meeting pointed out that the Sindh Assembly had earlier appointed a parliamentary committee to bring about a rapprochement between growers and sugar mill owners.
It said that the parliamentary committee had also made an announcement that the mill owners would start the crushing from Nov 1 and pay dues of over two billion rupees to the growers in two instalments on Dec 31 and Jan 31.
The meeting said that the government was supposed to issue a notification to this effect which was not done.
It said that the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association refused to accept the decision of the parliamentary committee on Oct 27.
The SAB meeting said that the Sindh government finally issued a notification on Oct 30 about the minimum price and start of the crushing season.
It expressed surprise that the government accepted the pressure of the mill owners and reduced the sugar cane price to Rs41 per 40kg.
The meeting observed that no one was above the law and demanded of the government to announce the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs43 per 40kg and ensure the payment of dues, including surcharge and quality premium, as decided by the parliamentary committee.
It reminded the government that farm workers and transporters were being deprived of Rs20 million per day due to a delay in the start of crushing season.
The meeting claimed that not only this but wheat crop also could not be sown.
The meeting, presided over by committee convener Umer Farooq, was participated by the board president Abdul Majeed Nizamani, Dr Bashir Nizamani, Mehmood Nawaz Shah, Dr Zulfiqar Yousfani and Mehfooz Ursani.
NAWABSHAH: The farmers have demanded that the Sindh government should withdraw its decision to reduce the sugarcane price and direct sugar mills to start crushing as soon as possible.
Talking to this correspondent here on Friday, the president, Small Growers Association, Mohammad Hakim Khaskheli, said that the provincial government had earlier decided to have the crushing begin from Nov 15 but it was later changed it Nov 30.
He said that if the crushing was delayed any further, cultivation of wheat would be adversely affected.
Criticizing the government, he said that if a grower owed even a single penny, he was arrested but mill owners seemed to be above the law as they were not troubled over the non-payment of dues.
The chairman, Sindh Abadgar Board, Nawabshah, Syed Abdullah Shah, said that they were not ready to accept Rs41 per 40kg of sugarcane as fixed by the provincial government when wood was being sold at Rs60.
They demanded that the Sindh government should review its decision and increase the price of sugarcane and also bound the mills to start crushing as soon as possible to save growers from a financial crisis.