In a bid to motivate the sugarcane farmers, who were disappointed with the State Government’s decision about giving MSP of sugarcane as in Uttar Pradesh, State Chief Minister Harish Rawat has announced Rs2 per quintal as bonus. The bonus would be applicable since the beginning of this year’s crushing season. The CM also appealed to the Union Government that sugar industry conditions are pathetic so the Government should think about their revival.
As far as payment of arrears to sugarcane farmers is concerned the State Government had paid all the arrears, which were due in the State cooperative sugar mills. To ensure timely payment of arrears due in private sugar mills, the state government has allocated Rs24 crore to them. State cooperative sugar mills are being provided special loan so that they would disburse the arrears of the farmers as soon as possible.
Uttarakhand would be second State after Haryana in clearing the arrears to cane farmers. Besides this, the State Government is going to motivate farmers to change their sugarcane seed and technique as well. As is known, sugarcane yield and recovery in Uttarakhand are lesser than expectation. For this there is need to change the seed to increase production and facilitate better returns to farmers and recovery of the industry.
CM Rawat also appealed to the Union Government to take some effective measurement to bail-out sugar industry and sugarcane farmers as well. Although Congress-led UPA Government had approved Rs6500 crore bail out package for sugar industry. As Uttarakhand has its limited resource so we would expect Union Government’s help in this regard.
In a bid to help the Bhagwanpur and Bahadarabad assembly constituencies’ area, where water table has gone much deeper so the area are not being used for cultivation, State Government is going to constitute Ghad Area Development Authority (GADA). Such proposal will be brought in next Cabinet meeting and district magistrate and chief development officer (CDO) would be chairman and vice chairman of the council till fresh appointment.
In future State would appoint public representative as chairman and vice chairman so that its objective would be achieved by the State. To address the issue we had appointed a committee and they have submitted their recommendation. In which they have suggested that there is need to give separate emphasis on the area so we decided to constitute the council. Final decision would be taken by the cabinet only.
In a bid to facilitate education for all, state government has decided to allocate Rs5 crore in minority development fund (MDF). The fund will be used for the upgradation of minority schools like madarsas. The fund will be diverted from the state budget in this financial year. It means State would make curtailment of other departments’ budget because state had not made such provision in State supplementary budget.
At present SPQM and IDMI and State Government MDF are being used for its funding. To pay the science and mathematics teachers SPQM fund is being used and IDMI is being used for the creation of minority school infrastructure. Even MDF is being used on up-gradation of school (Madarsa). To ensure better facility in Madarsa, Banjara and Rai Sikh schools State is going to constitute seven members committee, which will take final call about how and where to be made allocation from the special fund.