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M.R. Subramani

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Chennai, May 11 The Supreme Court on Monday will hear a batch of petitions and appeals against different orders of the Allahabad High Court on the support price for sugarcane farmers fixed by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

There have been various rulings, especially by the Allahabad High Court itself, on this issue and many petitions have been moved against these orders. A ruling in the price issue by the apex court is being awaited eagerly, since it is seen as one that can remove all confusion over the pricing issue. Growers, co-operative unions and sugar mills, besides the Uttar Pradesh Government, are engaged in a bitter battle over the support price.

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court has reserved judgment on an appeal filed against the Uttar Pradesh Government’s support price for sugarcane or what is known as the State Advised Price (SAP). The Lucknow bench of the High Court is also set to continue its hearing on the support price on Monday.

Earlier on April 1, the Allahabad High Court, in an interim order, asked Bajaj Hindusthan and Basti Sugar mills to execute a bond towards the difference of the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) and SAP fixed by the Mayawati Government. The SMP is fixed by the Centre and for 2007-08 season ending September, it has fixed Rs 81.18 a quintal as SMP for a basic recovery of 9 per cent subject to a premium of Rs 0.90 for every 0.1 percentage point increase in the recovery. This is against Rs 125 a quintal recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. The Uttar Pradesh Government, too, has fixed Rs 125 as the SAP for sugarcane during 2006-07 and 2007-08. The Allahabad Court’s interim order asked Bajaj and Basti to execute the guarantees in favour of the Uttar Pradesh Cane Commissioner.

Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd and Basti Sugar Mills had moved the Allahabad High Court against the SAP fixed for 2007-08. The High Court, in passing the interim order, modified its earlier ruling for 2006-07 passed on January 17, wherein it asked the State Government to rework the SAP. Bajaj and Basti, which functions under the former, have challenged the SAP on the grounds that the fixation of cane price by the State is unguided and arbitrary.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court had, in its interim order, passed an order on February 27, asking the sugar mills to pay a minimum of Rs 115 for a quintal of sugarcane for 2006-07. Representing the Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Cane Union Federation, Mr Ravindra Singh, on Friday urged the Allahabad High Court to review its earlier orders as they were “bad in law” and “passed in the ignorance of the earlier binding decision of a co-ordinate bench of the High Court” on a similar issue upholding the SAP for 2003-04.

Mr Singh also pointed out to the Court that SMP fixed by the Centre was linked to the recovery/levy price and not the real cane price, he said.

More Stories on : Sugar | Courts/Legal Issues

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