Maharashtra CM, leaders to meet top BJP ministers in Delhi to discuss ban on ethanol production, Maratha reservation
NAGPUR: Top leaders from Maharashtra, including chief minister Eknath Shinde would meet top BJP leaders, including home minister Amit Shah and commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal , in Delhi to discuss issues like ban on use of “sugarcane juice and sugar syrup” for ethanol production and Maratha reservation .
Speaking during the adjournment motion moved by the opposition, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said he had already spoken to Shah and Goyal and even union minister Nitin Gadkari on the ban.
“Gadkari has assured to look into this issue and promised to cooperate to find a way out of it. A way will be worked out by discussing with him on Saturday or Sunday, as he had aggressively promoted the ethanol’s use. He had told me to meet both Shah and Goyal in Delhi on working days to resolve the issue.”
Stressing on that, the Mahayuti government was ready to discuss all the important issues like unseasonal rains, problems of milk, orange and cotton producers and sugarcane farmers, ban on onion export and ethanol production, and Maratha reservation among others in the lower house, the deputy CM said relief will be given to the milk producers by holding a meeting under the CM’s chairmanship.
“Financial provision is needed to provide relief to the milk producing farmers. If the CM is unable to hold a meeting due to paucity of time, then I will convene a meeting with his permission with the dairy development minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Tuesday to resolve the issue. Discussions have been held with CM, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and minister of cooperation Dilip Walse Patil on all the issues plaguing the farming community.”
Explaining the adverse effects of the ban on the use of sugarcane juice and sugar syrup for ethanol production, Pawar said it would lead to an increase in the problems faced by farmers and sugar mills. “Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allowed use of 20% ethanol in petrol. Many industries had invested crores in setting up the plants to produce ethanol and the ban would spell doom for them along with sugar factories, particularly in Maharashtra. They had taken loans from the financial institutions to the tune of 95%. All these bodies would face massive losses,” he said.
The ban on using “sugarcane juice and sugar syrup” for the producing ethanol was announced by the BJP-led NDA government on Thursday to maintain the sugar availability for the domestic consumption and to keep a tab on its prices.
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