An expert committee has been constituted to study the complaints of sugarcane farmers that their produce was short-weighed at the sugar factories and sugar recovery rate was deliberately shown less than actual to cheat them of the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the government.
The seven-member expert committee with Joint Director of Agriculture, Mandya, as the Member Secretary, will visit all the five sugar factories in Mandya district and hold an inquiry into both the complaints made by the farmers at a recent grievances meeting held in the district.
The officials from the Department of Legal Metrology have been instructed to assist the experts’ team during its visits to the sugar factories to inquire whether the sugarcane was being under weighed and the farmers were being cheated. The Assistant Controller of the Department of Legal Metrology has been asked to extend technical assistance to the team of experts.
Similarly, the committee will also ascertain if the sugar factory management was deliberately showing the sugar recovery rate to be less than the actual as alleged by the farmers.
With the Centre fixing the FRP of ₹3,150 per tonne of sugarcane with a basic recovery rate of 10.25 percent, the farmers have alleged that the sugar factory management was deliberately showing the recovery rate to be less than the actual do cheat the farmers of their rightful FRP.
Apart from the Joint Director of Agriculture, Mandya, the seven-member committee comprises Joint Director, Food and Civil Supplies, Mandya, Joint Director, Industries and Commerce, Mandya, Assistant Controller, Legal Metrology Department, Mandya, Dr. K. Keshavaiah, professor and head, Jaggery Park, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, VC Farm, Mandya, Dr. Swamy Gowda, retired professor at the All India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) sugarcane at the Zonal Agricultural Research Station, VC Farm, Mandya, and Dr. P. Thimme Gowda, Senior Field Superintendent, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Mandya.
The expert team has been asked to visit all five sugar factories in Mandya and submit a report within three weeks, according to an official note issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya, Dr. Kumara on August 9.
