By Laxman Kafle
Kathmandu, Jan 1: Following a continuous protest by the sugarcane farmers in Kathmandu, the government has taken an initiative to arrest the owners of the sugar mills, who failed pay the farmers over years.
The government issued arrest orders after the owners did not come into contact to address the problems.
The sugarcane farmers from various Terai districts have been staging a protest at Maitighar, Kathmandu since Sunday after the mill owners did not pay them in time.
“The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies had tried to make contacts with the sugar mill owners who have not cleared the dues of the sugarcane farmers to resolve the problem, but in vain. This has prompted the ministry to write a letter to the Home Minister to nab the mill owners,” said Dinesh Bhattarai, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
Proprietor of Indira Sugar and Agro Limited and Annapurna Sugar and General Industries Rakesh Agrawal who has owed millions of rupees to the sugarcane farmers, has not come to the contact.
As per the recommendation made by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the Ministry of Home Affairs Tuesday directed Nepal Police to arrest Agrawal for not clearing the dues of the sugarcane farmers for a long time.
There are 13 sugar mills that are in operation in the country. The government has asked some of the closed sugar mills to resume their operation immediately.
According to Bhattarai, the government is committed to resolve the problem of the farmers.
“After listening to the grievances of the farmers, the ministry had conducted several rounds of formal and informal meetings with the farmers, mill owners and government officials, including Minister. But it failed to produce any result,” he said.
The farmers must be paid in time, he said, adding that the government would not tolerate high-handedness of the sugar mill owners.
“There is no involvement of government between the farmers and sugar mills during the purchasing and selling of sugarcane. So, the participation of both the parties, including farmers and mill operators is essential to address the problem,” he said.
The government has fixed the minimum price of sugarcane by adding the subsidy provided to the farmers, he said.
The government has fixed the minimum purchase price of sugarcane at Rs. 536.56 per quintal, including government subsidy of Rs. 65.28 per quintal for the current fiscal year.
He said that the problem of sugarcane farmers recurred due to the negligence on the part of the sugar mills.
A year ago, during a meeting held at the MoICS, the sugar mill owners had made their commitment to clear all dues of the farmers but they have not yet paid the farmers.
However, the dues claimed by the sugarcane farmers were comparatively lower this year than last year, he said.
The farmers said that they were compelled to stage the protests as sugar mills were reluctant to pay them pending dues amounting to Rs 1.5 billion.
Bhattarai also said that the MoICS sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agricultural Development to provide the government subsidy to the farmers if it was not provided.
Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Dr. Yubak Dhoj GC said that the ministry had already provided the subsidy to the concerned farmers.
Meanwhile, Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party has expressed its serious concerns over the problems faced by the sugarcane farmers.
The farmers have become victims after the sugar mills did not pay them, said a statement issued by the party on Tuesday.
The Nepali Congress expressed its solidarity with the farmers’ protest and urged the government to forward the process to resolve the problem at the earliest.
Likewise, Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI) expressed its solidarity with the protest of the sugarcane farmers.
Meanwhile, issuing a press statement National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urged the government and concerned authority to resolve the problems of sugarcane farmers at the earliest.
Earlier on Monday, lawmakers in the National Assembly asked the government to address the problems faced by the sugarcane farmers by punishing the wrongdoers.