Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar assured the Rajya Sabha Wednesday that the right of states to decide the State Administered Price (SAP) will continue under the amended Essential Commodities Act.
Replying to the clarifications sought by members on the Essential Commodities (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2009, Pawar said that if SAP for sugarcane was more than the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), the sugar mills will have to pay the difference.

The bill, already approved by the Lok Sabha, was passed by the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote Wednesday.

Pawar said that a clause relating to profit sharing between the mills and farmers had been deleted as it was a “non-starter”. He said the government, instead, had made provisions of upfront inclusion of cost and profit factors in FRP.

Earlier, replying to the debate, Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas said the government has sought to balance the interests of farmers and consumers while seeking to ensure that sugar mills were run properly. He said that clauses which entail liability of the government towards mill owners have been deleted.

“I can assure that the government will not dilute or interfere with SAP,” he said.

The bill amends the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to make provisions for validation of orders issued by the central government determining the price of levy sugar and other related issues.

Parliament had witnessed angry protests from the opposition at the start of the winter session over the earlier provisions that entailed the states to pay the difference between the FRP and SAP. The government had agreed to come with an amended bill to replace the ordinance in this regard.

Following the protests and farmer rallies in the capital, the government agreed to amend the bill and ask the sugar mills to pay the difference between the two prices.