Karnataka HC to government: Talk to sugar factories
Court asks the government not to precipitate any action against sugar mills.
Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday asked the state government to hold talks with all concerned, including the sugar mill owners, over fixing of support price for sugarcane.
The court asked the government also not to precipitate any action against sugar mills, and adjourned the matter by two weeks. The court said the government should inform it about the outcome of talks.
The South Indian Sugar Mills Association, along with several others, had approached the court challenging the government order fixing support price of sugarcane at Rs 2,500 per tonne.
The association had alleged that the government has threatened strict action against the sugar mills, which do not abide by the new support price.
Advocate general Ravivarma Kumar while substantiating the order of the government submitted that the Centre has fixed Rs 2,100 per tonne as support price for sugarcane and that the state cannot reduce the price that has already been fixed.
The court suggested the state to adopt a mechanism of fixing the support price for sugarcane based on the accounts of sugar mills for the past six months.