BS Yediyurappa likely to opt for compromise solution for MySugar Mills

MANDYA: The proposal to privatise MySugar Mills in Mandya district has always been a highly delicate issue, with activists and local farmers opposed to the idea of the state government giving up ownership of the facility, which has been defunct for long. Chief minister BS Yediyurappa, reportedly under pressure against giving his nod to privatising the mill, is believed to have directed senior bureaucrats in the government to explore the option of handing over operation and maintenance (O&M) to private entities, while the state retains ownership.
Among those opposed to completely privatising the mill are elected representatives from Mandya. However, the CM believes that by entrusting crushing operations and maintenance to private entities, and keeping the government’s stake in the mill intact, might be a solution acceptable to all.
Thinker and activist MB Naganna, among those who has been opposing the idea of privatising MySugar Mill in Mandya from the start, feels that the O&M formula would be the best solution to the longstanding problem.
Naganna said that, under the O&M model, the private entrepreneurs tasked with the mill’s operations would share in the profits of the facility. “The model must, however, also look to bring in transaparency in the finances involved in the mill’s maintenance,” he added.