MARGAO
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said the government is committed to revive the Sanjivani sugar factory, saying the government would soon float the Request for Proposal to bring the factory on the tracks.
A group of sugarcane farmers from Waddem-Curdi, however, said that they are not happy with the rates notified by the government for the sugarcane cultivators.
Addressing the media after an interaction with a group of farmers and elected representatives from Sanguem at the South Goa district Collectorate, the Chief Minister said the government has already notified the rates for the farmers for the next five years. “For the next five years, the sugarcane farmers will get the rate amounting to Rs 3000, Rs 2800 and Rs 2600 for the next five years. The farmers have agreed for the rates and the rates have been notified now”, he said.
Saying the government is serious in reviving the Sanjivani sugar factory, the Chief Minister said the government is going for the Rs 58 crore interest subvention scheme of the Government of Goa.
“Today, the two committees constituted to go into the issue of the Sanjivani sugar factory held their meetings. Dy CM Chandrakant Kavlekar and former MP Narendra Sawaikar also attended the meeting”, he said, adding that the government is serious in reviving the sugar factory.
Meanwhile, deputy Sarpanch of Waddem-Curdi, Kushta Gaonkar said the rates notified by the government for the sugarcane cultivators have been done without taking the farmers into confidence. “We conveyed to the Chief Minister that the rates are not acceptable, but the Chief Minister maintained that the rates are final”, he said.
Saying that the farmers wanted the government to take the sugarcane, he said this suggestion is also not acceptable to the Chief Minister, who wants the farmer to sell the same in the market. “We will place all these issues before the farmers”, he said, adding “let them take a decision whether they want to boycott the coming elections or not”.
