Mills challenge Sindh govt’s notification for sugarcane price

Karachi: The Sindh High Court on Monday issued notices to secretary agriculture supply and price control department, provincial law officer and others on the petition of sugar mills owners against fixation of fresh sugarcane prices by the Agriculture department. The Mirpurkhas Sugar Mill and others challenged the Agriculture department’s notification with regard to fixation of Rs.182 per 40 kilogram price of sugarcane.

Petitioner’s counsel Abdul Sattar Pirzada submitted that the SHC had already ordered constitution of a sugarcane control board and certain directions have been issued with regard to fixation of sugarcane price in accordance with Section 16 of the Sugar Factory Control Act 1950. He submitted that parameters under Section 16 of the Act have not been followed and price of the sugarcane has been fixed in a sliphood manner. He submitted that no opportunity has been provided to the petitioners to place their point of view. The counsel submitted that secretary agriculture may also be called to bring the minutes of the meeting held on November 20 in which some decisions were made which were not complied with.

The SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, issued notices to the secretary agriculture supply and price control, provincial law officer and others for December 12 and called their comments. The court also directed secretary agriculture to appear along with the minutes of the meeting with regard to fixation of the sugarcane price held on November 20.

The Sindh government had notified the sugarcane price at Rs.182 per 40 kilogram and directed the factories in the province to pay quality premium to the cane growers at the end of the crushing season 2018.It is pertinent to mention that the SHC had on October 30 also directed the Sindh government to constitute sugarcane control board and ordered that price of sugarcane as may be fixed by the sugarcane control board shall be notified by the government before November 30, positively.

The court had observed that under the Section 3 of the Sugar Factories Control Act, the Sindh government requires to establish a sugarcane control board with the a chairman and its members.

The court observed that under the Act, the government may on the recommendations of the board or otherwise by the notification determine the minimum price of the cane having regard to the cost of production of sugarcane and the return to the grower from alternative crops and the general trend of prices of agriculture commodities.