Payments due, distressed sugarcane farmers meet Rahul in Ambala
A group of sugarcane farmers, under the banner of Ganna Kisan Sangharsh Samiti Haryana, today met Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and raised the issue of pending payments by Naraingarh Sugar Mills.
Rahul Gandhi had reached Ambala as part of his Haryana Vijay Sankalp Yatra on Monday.
Vinod Rana, president of the samiti, along with other sugarcane farmers, submitted a memorandum to the Congress leader and requested him to take up the matter with the Union Government.
Vinod Rana said, “The Naraingarh Sugar Mills was yet to clear dues worth Rs 22.7 crore for the 2023-24 season that ended in March. It is the same story every year. The farmers are forced to wait to get their dues cleared but as per norms, payments should be cleared within 14 days of the purchase. The farmer unions have to resort to protests to get their dues cleared.”
“The sugarcane farmers are disappointed with the functioning of the mills and the government and we are even forced to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the dues cleared. We have requested Rahul Gandhi to get the dues cleared at the earliest and also find some permanent solution to this problem,” he said.
The farmer leader said, “The farmers have been struggling to get the legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price for their produce but the government hasn’t been accepting their demands. But the same government in 2019 had declared that sugar and ethanol couldn’t be sold below Rs 3,300 a quintal and Rs 62 per litre, respectively. The government has been discriminating against the farmers and protecting the interests of industrialists.”
The farmers raised the issue of paddy farmers and the land acquisition Act and requested the Congress leader to raise his voice in the interest of the farmers.
“Due to the lack of coordination between the government departments at the Centre and wrong policies related to import and export, farmers fail to get adequate price for their produce even if there is a bumper crop. The departments and government should work with better coordination and form policies in the favour of farmers,” he said.
Vinod Rana said “We are grateful to Rahul Gandhi as he agreed to meet us and gave us a patient hearing. He has assured us that the issue of Naraingarh sugar mills will be resolved if voted to power in Haryana, while the other issues will be raised with the Union Government strongly.”
‘PPP nothing but Parivar Pareshan Patra’
During their visit to Haryana, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi met some people who had been facing inconvenience due to alleged mistakes in Parivar Pehchan Patra. The Congress leaders assured them that they would resolve their issues after coming to power. Priyanka, in her public address in Naraingarh, said, “The BJP had introduced ‘Parivar Pehchan Patra’ scheme but it turned out to be ‘Parivar Pareshan Patra’ for people.”
‘Unions have to resort to protests’
The Naraingarh Sugar Mills is yet to clear dues worth ~22.7 crore for the 2023-24 season. As per norms, payments should be cleared within 14 days of the purchase but farmer unions have to resort to protests to get their dues cleared. — Vinod Rana, chief, kisan Sangharsh Samiti Haryana
