Bihar's Sugarcane Farmers Left in Lurch

West Champaran (Bihar): Thousands of sugarcane farmers have been staging a protest since December, demanding an increase in sugarcane prices as well as payment of their dues for the sugarcane supplied to the sugar mills. They are accusing the state government of having neglected them, and of not ensuring clearance of their dues within the stipulated time.

More than three months after the sugarcane crushing season started, farmers from the state, particularly from West Champaran district, have repeatedly staged protests against the sugar mills over non-payment of their dues. The mill owners have cited one or other reason for the delay, and the concerned government agencies – in spite of assuring the farmers – have done nothing so far.  

“We have not been paid money by the sugar mills for nearly 100 days after having bought our sugarcane. The concerned government officials were repeatedly informed, but the sugar mills are behaving like feudal lords, and the sugarcane farmers are in distress as usual. The government is also not pressurising the mill owners to pay to us,” said Ravinder Yadav, a sugarcane farmer from Bagaha in West Champaran.

Another sugarcane farmer from Bagaha, Rajendar Choudhary, said that they will be forced not to grow sugarcane, and consider another cash crop. “We are fed up with the sugar mill owners. And the government is of no help to us.”

Farmers Sashi Kumar Shah, Sanjay Giri and Rupesh Yadav of Bagaha expressed their anger, saying that they will teach a lesson to the government in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. “The government has been presenting sugarcane farmers with stepmotherly behaviour,” they alleged.

Yadav and Choudhary are two of the thousands of sugarcane farmers up in arms against the state government, particularly against Bihar Sugarcane Development Minister Khurshid Alam of JD-U, who had won from the Sikta assembly seat in West Champaran.

Suraj Narain Kushwaha, a sugarcane farmer, said that the protesters have burnt the effigy of the minister thrice to protest against his apathy and his silence.

As per the Sugarcane Development Department’s official website, there are 28 sugar mills – 11 operational and 17 closed mills. 

Out of 11 operational sugar mills in Bihar, five are in West Champaran – Bagaha sugar mill, Harinagar sugar mill, Narkatiaganj sugar mill, Majhauli sugar mill and Lauria sugar mill. The sugar mill in Chanpatia has been closed.

Three sugar mills are in Gopalganj district followed by one sugar mill each in East Champaran, Sitamarhi and Samastipur districts.

With half of the sugar miss in the state in the West and East Champaran districts, these are the largest sugarcane-producing districts of Bihar, followed by Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Madhubani, Vaishali and Siwan.

The area under sugarcane cultivation was 2.69 lakh hectare in 2017-18, and it increased to 3.00 lakh hectare in 2018-19, according to the Sugarcane Development Department. The sugarcane production was 176.10 lakh MT in 2017-18 and 210.00 lakh MT in 2018-19.

What has angered the sugarcane farmers in West Champaran is that the local administration had lodged FIRs against protesting farmers instead of taking action against the mill owners for the non-payment of their dues. “We have demanded that the police withdraw the cases against sugar cane farmers,” said Jai Singh, one of the leaders of the protesting sugarcane farmers in Bagaha in West Champaran.

Singh, who is the convenor of the Bagaha Kisan Manch, said that even three months after the sugar mills started crushing sugarcane, some farmers have received payment for only 15 days, and others for a week, only in their bank accounts.

“Some of the small and marginal sugarcane farmers are in deep trouble, as their cash crop sugarcane is still standing and drying in their fields, and are likely to be wasted,” Singh said.

CPI(M) leader Prabhuraj Narayan Rao, who is also leading the protest of the sugarcane farmers, told Newsclick that one of the main demands is to hike the rate of sugarcane to Rs 400 per quintal. “At present, sugar mills are giving three different rates for three qualities of sugarcane. For the top category or for the superior variety of sugarcane, farmers are getting a rate of Rs 310 per quintal, Rs 285 for the second and Rs 270 for the third quality of the sugarcane. On average, sugarcane farmers are getting a rate of Rs 280 per quintal,” he told Newsclick.

According to Rao, general secretary of Bihar Rajya Ikh Utpadak Sangh, sugarcane farmers are also victims of “ghat-tauli”(a kind of corruption at the sugar mills where  the actual weight of sugarcane is shown to be less than at the time of  purchasing). “It is a major cause of concern among the farmers, and they have repeatedly complained to the district administration. But officials have downplayed it, as they are hand-in-glove with the sugar mills,” he said.

Rao said that the state government as well as the central government are deliberately ignoring the violation of the Sugarcane Purchase and Supply Act 1966. “Sugarcane farmers have to be paid money within 14 days of the purchase, as per the Act. In case of a delay, sugarcane farmers have to be paid the dues with interest,” he told Newsclick.

The protest is a joint agitation of different farmers’ unions, federations and associations of sugarcane farmers, including Bihar Rajya Kisan Sabha, Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, Bhartiya Kisan Union, Bihar Kisan Sangh and Bihar Rajya Ikh Utpadak Sangh and local Kisan Morcha.

“It is a fact that Khurshid has cordial links with sugar mill owners, who are exploiting the farmers. Khurshid Alam, who also enjoys blessings of the BJP for chanting Jai Shri Ram, has accumulated huge wealth in the recent years, thanks to the supporting sugar mill owners. The state government should order a probe into assets of Khurshid,” said Rao.

Khurshid, however, has refuted all the allegations against him. The government has asked the sugar mills to clear the dues of the sugarcane farmers.

Dayanand Diwedi, a CPI (ML) leader from West Champaran, said that none other than the government is responsible for the harassment and the mental torture of the sugarcane farmers. “Till date, neither the government nor Khurshid have made any effort to listen to the genuine demands of the sugarcane farmers,” he alleged.

Interestingly, at a time when sugarcane farmers in the state are fighting for their rights, the government has been working to increase sugarcane cultivation areas to 3.50 lakh hectare by 2022. It is a part of the third agriculture road map of Bihar that was launched in 2017.