States » SouthPosted at: Jun 28 2025 2:24PM


BR Patil accuses sugar mills of cheating farmers

Kalaburagi, June 28 (UNI) Disgruntled senior MLA BR Patil, who has increasingly distanced himself from the ruling dispensation, has fired a fresh salvo — this time targeting sugar factories in Kalaburagi district over alleged largescale irregularities in sugarcane procurement.
Patil, who earlier rocked the political boat by alleging corruption in the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Scheme, has now turned his ire toward what he called "systematic cheating" of farmers by sugar factories. Speaking to reporters, Patil said that cane growers are being duped through manipulation of weights at the procurement stage.
"Farmers are being looted with impunity. Factories are tampering with weights and paying farmers less than what they are owed," Patil claimed.
He said he personally verified discrepancies by weighing sugarcane on a private weighbridge before it reached a factory. "The weight inside the factory was suspiciously lower. Both machines can't lie — clearly, there’s tampering involved," he alleged.
The MLA claimed that sugar factories across Karnataka owe over Rs 10,000 crore in pending dues to farmers and accused the state government of being complicit through inaction. "Farmers are being driven into a debt trap while the government watches in silence," he said.
Farmers also slammed the state for freezing the State Advised Price (SAP), which is supposed to supplement the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre. "Even a Rs 100–150 addition would have helped, but this government has completely locked SAP. It has neither listened to the Centre nor the cries of farmers," he said.
Farmers are now demanding an increase in FRP and inclusion of sugarcane under the crop insurance scheme to ensure a safety net during periods of distress.
Patil's remarks come amid growing tensions between him and the ruling leadership, with the veteran legislator increasingly positioning himself as a crusader against internal corruption and bureaucratic apathy. Whether his latest outburst will trigger any policy response remains to be seen.
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