Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Botcha Satyanarayana on Friday assured to make payments to all sugarcane farmers by auctioning additional lands of NCS Sugar factory, located at Latchayyapeta of Bobbili Assembly constituency of Vizianagaram.
In the backdrop of agitations over the immediate payment of Rs.16 crore to the farmers who supplied sugarcane to the factory, the minister who hails from Vizianagaram district organised a high level meeting in Collector’s office. Later, speaking to the media, he said that the company was supposed to pay Rs.16.33 crore to the farmers for the sugarcane crushing period of 2019-20, 2020-21 but could not do so in spite of repeated reminders from the government.
“Around 19 acres of land would be auctioned under Revenue Recovery Act. Around 30,000 bags of sugar will also be sold to raise funds which would be distributed to farmers very soon,” said Mr. Satyanaraya.
He strongly criticised opposition parties for instigating agitations and attacks on cops at the factory premises. The minister said that such incidents had never taken place in the district. Earlier, Vizinaagaram Collector A.Suryakumari and Superintendent of Police M.Deepika Patil reportedly told the minister that the people who agitated were not the farmers but the activists of political parties.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) Vizianagaram City Secretary Reddi Sankara Rao alleged that the district administration was trying to suppress the voice of farmers with preventive arrests. He said that several leaders including P.Ramanama, T.V.Ramana and other leaders were being force to confine to their homes when they planned to extend their solidarity to the farmers. He said that the government was unable to find out a permanent solution to the issues of farmers and traders in the district. INTUC leader Modili Srinivas asked the government to take steps immediately for payment of debts to the farmers.
