New Delhi, June 03: President has given his assent to a bill aiming to put an end to flouting of the monthly sugar release mechanism by millers and shoring up domestic prices which have fallen to abysmally low levels. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2003, passed by Parliament in the budget session this year has received President's assent, "bringing an end to the large scale indiscipline in sugar markets", official sources told.
The amendment in effect means that the sugar release mechanism will now be directly placed under the Essential Commodities Act, which cannot be contested in courts as it falls under the ninth schedule of the Constitution.
The Centre has been regulating the supply of sugar for levy (ration shops) and open sale under the monthly mechanism wherein each mill is allocated a fixed quota which it can download in the market.
In the past one year, the mills have flouted the mechanism by selling additional sugar in the market over and above their monthly quota by getting sanction from courts, thus making the system redundant.
This has resulted in decline in sugar prices in the domestic market which in fact are even lower than the rate at which it is sold in ration shops.
This also affected the capacity of sugar mills to pay cane price dues to the sugarcane growers. The amended act seeks to strengthen the regulated release mechanism for supply of free sale sugar and re-stabilise the market prices.
The carry over stock of sugar at the beginning of the current season was around 102 lakh tonnes and is expected to be at the same level when it ends on September 30, 2003.
Bureau Report