HC asks state govt to ensure no sugarcane remains uncrushed

Mumbai, Feb 27 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra Government to ensure no sugarcane remained uncrushed during the current crushing season and asked V P Rane, chairman of Vasantdada Sugar Institute, to submit his report suggesting requisite measures.

A division bench, comprising Justices Bilal Nazki and S A Bobde, has asked Mr Rane to suggest, within four weeks, as to what was required to ensure that no sugarcane remains uncrushed during the current crushing season like last year, when the State Government had to give subsidy of nearly Rs 132 crore for uncrushed sugarcane.

The court has asked him as to what was required of redistribution of sugarcane or adding to capacity of existing Sugar Factories or New Sugar Factories.

The State Government had filed an application for modifying the earlier court order, restraining it and Sugar Commissioner of the State from issuing any licence to any new Sugar Factory in the state. The Advocate General submitted that last year the State Government had to cough up nearly Rs 132 crore to farmers towards subsidy for uncrushed sugarcane as there was excess production and large quantity of sugarcane could not be crushed for want of production capacity.

The judges said farmers and the State was suffering and asked the government to ensure no sugarcane remains uncrushed and goes waste.

The court also excluded some private sugar factories from earlier restraining orders and gave its nod to a private sugar factory in Pune district, set up by Baramati Agro Ltd.

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