No Bharat Bandh impact in Goa, but assembly rocked by sugarcane farmers’ plight

Panaji, March 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) While the Bharat Bandh called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha had no impact in Goa, for a change a farming related issue, involving the plight of sugarcane farmers in Goa, rocked the state legislative assembly, forcing the Speaker Rajesh Patnekar to adjourn proceedings twice on Friday.

While the House has seen repeated disruptions over issues related to drugs, tourism, mining, etc, Friday's disruption was a rare instance of the legislative spotlight being focused on a farming-related issue in the state, which is regarded as the country's top party and holiday destination.

Opposition members stormed the well of the House on two occasions, accusing the Goa government of holding out payments of dues to sugarcane farmers in South Goa and the inability of the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant-led administration to restart the non-functional Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana, the state's only sugar factory located in South Goa.

"This government has not only held out payments in crores due to farmers, but no steps have been taken to restart the factory which was operational till sometime back," former Deputy Chief Minister and Goa Forward party MLA Vijai Sardesai said during Question Hour.

The factory was established as a co-operative enterprise during the reign of the state's first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar in 1972, when Goa tried to borrow a page from Maharashtra and Karnataka, which have a prosperous track record of sugar production through a flourishing co-operative sector.

In recent years however, government mismanagement and lack of adequate local production of sugarcane had led to deterioration of the financial health of the government unit, which eventually shut down in 2020.

The closure has now put the future of more than 800 sugarcane farmers, who used to process their harvested crop at the Sanjeevani factory. Around 35,346 tons of sugarcane was crushed and processed at the Goa factory in 2018-19, nearly half of which was procured from outside the state and the other half from local farmers.

There are more than 800 sugarcane farmers in Goa who have been agitating, demanding that the government release their dues, which includes assured prices and other subsidies, totalling around Rs. 9 crore, at the earliest.

Goa's Agriculture Minister, deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar however claims that the delay in release of their dues was not on account of the government, but due to differences between two bodies of sugarcane farmers.

"We have not withheld payments of the farmers. We told the two committees to discuss and submit a formula," Kavlekar said, adding that there was "confusion" between the two farmer's organisations.

"We have kept a provision of Rs. 10 crore for them. We are willing to pay," Kavlekar also said.Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who also spoke during the discussion, said that the Goa government was working on a plan on reviving the sick unit over the next few years.

Source: IANS