BELAGAVI: The Union Government should increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for sugarcane and fix the price at Rs 6,000 per tonne, Karnataka Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi said, making it clear that the State Government has no authority to fix the price. He said that the state has already submitted a draft to the Centre seeking an increase in the MSP. “We have been requesting the Centre every year to increase the MSP, but there has been no hike so far,” he said.
Saitsh said that the State Government would attend a meeting with the Centre if invited after consultations with farmers. “We have not received any invitation from the Centre so far. The process will begin only after an agreement is reached between sugar factories and farmers. There is still time,” he said.
On the ongoing revision of electoral rolls, the minister said he had discussed the issue with election officials. He said legal action could be taken against those who deliberately filed false applications seeking deletion of voters’ names.
“After an application is filed, a notice is issued within seven days. If the allegations cannot be substantiated, a case can be filed,” he said. Satish said there were clear rules governing objections to electoral rolls and that applications could be submitted through BLA-2. “There is also a provision to raise objections if the voting rights of eligible voters are affected,” he said.
He claimed that not a single eligible voter’s name had been deleted in Belagavi and said names omitted from the rolls could be restored if the details were brought to the authorities’ notice.