The Central and the UP governments here today constituted a four-member committee to find a solution to the problems of sugarcane farmers. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.Those present at the meeting included Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, UP Chief Minister Mayawati, Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh, Food Minister Sharad Yadav, UP Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon, Sugarcane Development Minister Premlata Katiyar, UP BJP central in-charge Kalraj Mishra and state BJP president Vinay Katiyar.The committee, to be convened by Yadav, would include Singh, Law Minister Arun Jaitley and Premlata. It would also meet representatives of sugar mill-owners.Mayawati asked the Prime Minister to empower states to fix the statutory minimum price (SMP) ‘‘to ensure that the interest of poor farmers is not hurt by sugar mill-owners’’. She pointed out that even though the state had fixed Rs 95 per quintal for sugarcane procurement — which was being paid by the state’s 49 government sugar mills — the 52 private mill-owners were denying the same to farmers. Citing the SMP of Rs 69.50 announced by the Centre, they were making payments to farmers only on the basis of recovery. Mayawati said: ‘‘I told the Prime Minister that every state government should get the right to fix the SMP. Then, private mill-owners would dare not hurt the interests of farmers. It is for the Centre to decide.’’Yadav, however, maintained that ‘‘New Delhi has been fixing the SMP traditionally and conventionally and states are free to fix their own prices. There’s an attempt to break that mechanism and we will not allow it.’’ When asked if the Centre would empower states to fix the SMP, Yadav said: ‘‘It is a tedious process which may take more than a year. Our immediate priority is to provide remunerative prices to the farmers this year.’’
