S M Krishna turns up the heat on Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: A week after Governor H. R. Bhardwaj ticked of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over slackness in the state administration and the inept handling of the drought situation, former external affairs minister, S.M. Krishna shot of a letter to the CM on Monday seeking early release of procurement arrears to sugar cane growers in Mandya, his home district.

According to the letter, Mr Krishna stated that sugar factories in Mandya  have failed to pay arrears amounting to Rs 105.20 crore, as a result of this, several sugarcane growers are in dire straits.

"The state government has also announced a support price of Rs  150 per tonne but even this amount has not reached  the farmers. Certainly this needs to be addressed at the earliest," Mr Krishna, a former CM, observed in his letter.

In a related development, the state government failed to arrive at  a consensus with  sugar factory owners over payment of the support price to sugarcane growers on Monday.

Speaking to reporters  after the inconclusive meeting with Sugar mill owners here,  Law and parliamentary affairs minister, T.B. Jayachandra said, "Yes, sugar mill owners have  rejected outright the state government's decision takne at the Belgaum session last year that they should pay a price of Rs 2500 per tonne to sugarcane farmers. However, the state government has warned them of dire consequences if they fail to pay up."

Without divulging what would be the dire consequences they would have to face, Mr Jayachandra asserted that the state government had already released support price of Rs 150 to every farmer in the state. "We have transferred this amount electronically to their respective accounts directly," he said.