While Mayawati was partying

The price of Rs 95 per quintal was fixed for the current season during meetings between representatives of the mills and the canegrowers’ societies in the presence of the Cane Commissioner. But the agreed price was refused to them due to the order passed by the Allahabad High Court on November 13, 2002, wherein it directed the Uttar Pradesh government that in view of a Supreme Court order dated January 22, 1997, only Rs 64.50 i.e. the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP), had to be paid by the mills.

It’s this High Court order that created the crisis: canegrowers refused to supply their cane at this price since it does not even meet production costs. After three farmers were killed in police firing in Basti district, the Lok Sabha debated the issue and arrived at a solution. The Prime Minister magnanimously announced to the sound of the thumping of desks that the SMP of sugarcane had been increased from Rs 64.50 to Rs 69.50. Why then didn’t the farmers give in? Because they want the agreed price of Rs 95 that had been upheld by the Supreme Court in another order, dated January 31, 2001.

This January 2001 order modified the earlier January 1997 order that had been relied upon by the High Court. The question is: if the farmers’ interest is protected by the Supreme Court, how did the Allahabad High Court grant a contrary order in November 2002 which forbids a higher price? This is because the Supreme Court order was concealed from the High Court.

When this concealment was highlighted in the media, Chief Minister Mayawati issued a press release on November 30, 2002, where she denied that the Supreme Court had permitted payment of the agreed price of Rs 95. And, that the order passed in January 1997 had been modified. I intervened and requested the Prime Minister to ensure that the January 31 order was complied with. Article 142 of the Constitution makes it obligatory for the Prime Minister to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court’s order which not only permits a price that is higher than the SMP, but also ensures that in cases where agreements are executed by the mills with the canegrowers’ societies, there cannot be any discrimination in payment of the cane price between members of the same society. In Uttar Pradesh, practically every society sells cane to both the State and private mills.

While all the mills have executed agreements in November 2002 because of the High Court order, they refused to pay the agreed price of Rs 95. I approached the Allahabad High Court on December 13, 2002 by filing an impleadment application and placed the Supreme Court order that was concealed. The UP Govt that had denied the existence of the Supreme Court order filed an affidavit on January 7, 2003, admitting that the interest of canegrowers was protected by the Supreme Court order and the farmers are entitled to Rs 95. The State however, held the sugarmills responsible for the concealment. One nagging question: who is to be held accountable for the deaths that took place due to suicides and police firing?

On January 10, 2003, the High Court modified its earlier order and permitted State-owned mills to pay the agreed price. The advocate for the State Government was not even present in court! The impact of this order is that out of 102 sugarmills in Uttar Pradesh, 50 started paying Rs 95 while the other 52 continued to pay a lesser price. Private mills are insisting on paying an SMP that sets back the farmers by about Rs 2,000 crore, while the state government refuses to force the mills to abide by the SC order.

If Prime Minister Vajpayee had tried to get the SC order implemented, precious lives could have been saved. The Prime Minister could have also sanctioned money from his relief fund for the families of those who were killed in the police firing, as he had done for the BJP-BSP workers who died in a stampede at the Lucknow railway station on September 28, 2002. The farmers were atleast fighting for their dues; the rallyists were ticketless travellers and offenders of the law.