Sugar cane farmers in Punjab on Tuesday withdrew their protest in response to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s announcement of a ₹35 per quintal hike in the State agreed price (SAP) for the cane crushing season 2021-22, taking the SAP in the State to ₹360 per quintal.
The matter was resolved during a meeting of farmer union leaders with the Chief Minister here this afternoon, during which Capt. Amarinder, while agreeing to the SAP hike, said the State’s fiscal situation had prevented an adequate increase in the SAP for the past 3 to 4 years. The farmer union leaders had earlier pointed out that Punjab had failed to hike sugar cane SAP in proportion to Haryana’s over the same period, causing fiscal losses to them.
The Chief Minister said the farmers were not to blame for the problem, which had been caused by Punjab’s poor finances. While he was always with the farmers and wanted to do his best for their welfare, the State’s fiscal crisis had prevented him for increasing the SAP earlier, he said, adding that balancing the needs of the farmers with those of the cooperative and private sugar mill owners was tough, given the prevailing fiscal situation.
The farmer union leaders, representing the Sanjha Kisan Morcha that has been spearheading the sugar cane farmers’ agitation for the past several days, thanked the Chief Minister for addressing their problem and announcing the hike.
Published - August 25, 2021 04:57 am IST
