Punjab: Navjot Singh Sidhu seeks immediate hike in sugarcane prices

CHANDIGARH: Ahead of a meeting between Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and farmers over sugarcane prices, the ruling Congress' state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday said cane rates should be immediately increased according to cane growers' demands.
Sidhu, who has been at loggerheads with Singh in the past, also pointed out that the State Assured Price (SAP) of sugarcane had not been raised since 2018 while the input cost grew by 30 per cent.
Chief minister Singh will on Tuesday meet farmer leaders over sugarcane prices and clearance of pending dues.
The farmers' agitation over their demands entered the fifth day on Tuesday, impacting rail services and road traffic.
"Sugarcane farmers SAP has not increased since 2018, whereas input cost has increased by over 30%. Punjab model means policy interventions giving fair prices, equitable share in profits, diversification in production & processing to give more profits to both farmers & sugar mill," said Sidhu in a tweet.
In another tweet, the cricketer-turned-politician said, "SAP should be immediately hiked as per farmers demands & pending dues should be released. Along with Modernization of Sugar Mills for higher productivity & production of high-value byproducts (ethanol, biofuel & electricity) for boosting profits of both Farmers and Sugar Mills."
His latest tweets came a day after he said that cane prices in Punjab are lower than that of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand despite higher input cost and sought better prices for state farmers.
Haryana is ruled by the BJP-JJP alliance while Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by the BJP.
Protesting farmers are demanding Rs 400 per quintal of SAP and clearance of their pending dues. They have already rejected a hike of Rs 15 per quintal announced by the Punjab government some days back.
The state government had revised sugarcane rates to Rs 325 for the early variety, Rs 315 for mid variety and Rs 310 per quintal for the late maturing variety.
The protesters have blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar national highway near Dhanowali village of Jalandhar district.
They have also blocked Ludhiana-Amritsar and the Ludhiana-Jammu rail tracks in Jalandhar, affecting several trains.