BENGALURU/MYSURU, 6 NOV

As the farmers’ protest intensified in north Karnataka over sugarcane prices, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday clarified that the Centre, and not the State Government, is responsible for fixing the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane.

Siddaramaiah has called two meetings on Friday, one with sugar mill owners between 11am and 1pm, and another with farmer leaders from Haveri, Belagavi, Bagalkote, and Vijayapura in Bengaluru.

“The FRP fixation is done by the Centre every year, including this year on 6 May. The farmers are being misled by the opposition, which is politicising the issue,” Siddaramaiah said.

The Chief Minister said the Centre has fixed Rs 3,550 per tonne for sugarcane with a 10.25 per cent recovery rate, explaining that for every 0.1 per cent variation, Rs 3.46 is either added or deducted. If the recovery falls to 9.5 per cent or less, the effective rate becomes Rs 3,290.50 per tonne, he noted.

He said he will seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the farmers’ grievances and request Centre’s cooperation in revising FRP and ethanol quotas.

The CM alleged that despite Karnataka producing 270 crore litres of ethanol, the Centre allocated only 47 crore litres, calling it an injustice to state farmers.

He appealed to protesters not to block highways, stressing that inconvenience to the public weakens their cause.

The government, he added, has installed weighing machines at 11 locations and floated tenders for eight more to ensure transparency in cane payments.

JD(S) urges hike in milk incentives as Nandini raises ghee rates

Former minister and JD(S) State Working President Sa Ra Mahesh on Thursday urged the State government to raise milk procurement incentives from Rs 5 to Rs 7 per litre after the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) hiked the price of Nandini ghee by Rs 90 and butter by Rs 26 per kilo, citing higher production costs.

He said while the State decided to pay the entire hike directly to farmers, incentives must also increase to offset expenses. “KMF raised ghee prices when the Union government reduced GST rates,” he noted. The new prices, Rs 700 per kg for ghee and Rs 570 for butter, took effect Wednesday.

Mahesh also accused the Siddaramaiah government of neglecting development projects while focusing solely on guarantee schemes. He claimed 63 per cent of State ’s Rs 7.81 lakh crore debt was incurred under Siddaramaiah’s two terms.

He criticised delays in local body elections, warning the state had lost grants, and urged systematic planning and funding for the proposed Greater Mysuru project.