The issue of cane price rocked the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Monday with the Opposition parties, including BSP and BJP, staging a noisy walkout criticising the State Government for not increasing the cane price in this session.
They demanded `350 per quintal as the cane price. The matter was raised in the Assembly through an adjournment notice. Raising the issue Suresh Khanna (BJP) said, the Government has not increased sugarcane price — which is stable at `280 per quintal — for the last two years. The State-owned Sugarcane Research Council has declared that a farmers spend `257 for a quintal of sugarcane production.
So, it is clear that farmers are left with no margin for profit. The Government should increase the cane price to `350 per quintal.leader of the Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya said that for the past two years the cane price has not been hiked while the cane dues hover around `1,850 crore.
RlD members also demanded increase in cane price. They said that the present price was not enough to meet their needs. The cane farmers are staging protest across western UP. The Government should do something otherwise their agitation may take a violent turn, he said.
UP parliamentary affairs minister Mohammad Azam Khan, however, said that the Government was doing everything required for the welfare of thefarmers. “Ours is a pro-farmer Government and we will provide all the help we can to the cane farmers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the House also witnessed some noisy scenes over the law and order situation in the state. The matter was raised by BSP and supported by Congress and BJP members through an adjournment notice.Khan assured the House that all care is being taken to control the law and order situation in the State.
During the question hour, the State Government said that the number of drought-hit districts in the State has gone up to to 58. Revenue Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said that Centre was yet to take any cognizance on the demand of `4,819 crore sought by the State Government.
He said that 14 more district have been added in the drought hit list which includes lucknow, Allahabad, Rae Bareli and Hatras. Earlier the Government had declared 44 districts as drought-hit.BJP members staged a noisy walkout in protest against the Minister’s reply. Yadav said that the letter demanding compensation was sent on September 9 but the Centre is yet to respond.