Maharashtra cooperative minister Chandrakant Patil on Monday admitted that the state government is facing shortage of funds and it is finding it difficult to even pay salaries to its employees. Speaking in the context of the current sugar crisis in the state, Mr Patil ruled out state government’s intervention in it.
However, he assured that the state government would ensure that farmers get FRP.
A majority of sugar mills in Maharashtra have expressed inability to pay the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP). They have demanded the government’s help to pay FRP to farmers. However, Mr Patil said that the government’s funds have depleted because of the misrule of Congress-NCP and it is not in a position to help. Speaking at a function, Mr Patil said, “If sugar prices have fallen by over '900 per quintal, then it will not be possible for the sugar factories to pay as per FRP to farmers. The state government definitely does not have money to fund the gap between market prices and FRP. The Congress-NCP governments have emptied the state’s coffers and left behind a debt of '3.84 lakh crore. This month we do not have money to pay salaries to state government employees. From where will government get '2,000 crore to help sugar factories ”
FRP has been fixed by the government in order to protect the farmers from exploitation. Commission for agriculture costs and prices has recommended FRP for sugarcane for the sugar season 2014-15 to be '220 per quintal at 9.5 per cent recovery of sugar from sugarcane. With every increase in recovery by 0.1 percentage point, the FRP will increase by '2.32 per quintal.
