CHENNAI: Former DMK Minister R Rajendran on Tuesday said the DMK government had increased the procurement price of sugarcane from Rs 2,750 to Rs 3,500 per tonne and provided various incentives to safeguard the interests of sugarcane farmers.
In a statement, Rajendran said the State government had provided a special incentive of Rs 192.50 per tonne during the 2020-21 crushing season, Rs 195 per tonne in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Rs 215 per tonne in 2023-24, and Rs 349 per tonne in 2024-25.
He termed the reports completely incorrect, saying that the special incentive had been increased by only Rs 156 over the past five years and that providing more than Rs 134 per tonne in a single year was unprecedented.
According to Rajendran, Rs 1,094.27 crore had been credited as special incentives to the bank accounts of 5,77,755 sugarcane farmers between 2021 and 2026.
He said the government had also provided Rs 937.20 crore in working capital loans to cooperative and public-sector sugar mills over the past five years to ensure that farmers received their sugarcane dues without delay.
Thus, a total of Rs 2,031.47 crore had been provided towards special incentives and timely payment of sugarcane dues during the five-year period, besides several other measures for the welfare of sugarcane farmers, he said.