here are over thousand sugarcane farmers in Goa, who have a lot of faith in Sanjivani. For them, the name Sanjivani refers to something that provides a new lease of life to someone. The name also means ‘immortality’. And currently, the fact that is a matter of life or death for the State’s lone sugar factory is of a great concern to the beleaguered sugarcane farmers of Goa.
For the last four decades, it has been an institution and the means of livelihood for families, from one generation to the next. It’s not just about sugarcane plantations, but their way of life and their identity in this world.
Thus, when the govt, in the recent Assembly session, spoke about the possibility that the Dharbandora based company may be forced to close its shutters as it had suffered losses of Rs 100 crore since its inception, there were massive protests.
To the govt’s argument that it is untenable for the factory to carry out its next crushing season activity, they demanded that more measures be put in place to salvage the situation. With their fate hanging in the balance, they threatened to agitate, and Sanguem Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar warned the govt that he would bring the farmers and protest with them on the streets of Panjim. However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Cooperation Minister Govind Gaude clarified that the govt had never intended to close the factory.
This led to a series of meetings by the Cooperation Minister with the stakeholders, which was followed by high-level minister/mla meetings at the factory premises, where the government announced its plans to rejuvenate the factory. The farmers were also asked to produce and supply more sugarcane to bridge the huge gap between the amount the factory needs and how much it currently gets. This offered a ray of hope to the farmers and factory employees who now await the arrival of ‘Achhe din.
For now, they are looking forward to two key promises – the replacement of machinery by procuring funds from the Centre and that the government will buy the sugarcane produce from the farmers, in case the factory’s next crushing season fails to commence.
They are still cautious though given that promises have been made in the past but they never saw the light of day. For instance, former Cooperation Minister Mahadev Naik, had had declared that the govt would bring a mineral water plant at the factory’s premises but that never happened.
Govt gives assurances
Recently, there was a meeting with all the stakeholders at Sanjivani’s factory. This was attended by Dy CM and Agriculture Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, Cooperation Minister Govind Gaude, PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar, Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar, various government officials and Sugarcane Farmers Association President Rajendra Desai. This was followed by another meeting chaired by Kavlekar where an inter-dept committee comprising officials from the Agriculture, WRD, PWD and Cooperation depts was formed to oversee the the sugarcane farmer’s issues.
WRD Minister Felipe Neri Rodrigues, PWD Minister, Cooperation Minister, and Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar were also present for the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to focus on improving sugarcane production for the reviving the factory. The govternment also assured to provide the required schemes.
Gaude said that the govte spends around Rs 6 crore annually on maintenance fees and around Rs 5 crore on paying the employees their salaries.
“We are conducting a review of all this expenditure. We have sent a proposal to the Centre to replace the old machinery with new machinery. We will soon visit Delhi for a follow up on this and based on what they say, we will take a decision before September 10,” said Gaude. He added that thefarmers were assured that the govt will buy the entire sugarcane produce of the farmers if the November crushing season fails to commence.
He stressed that ultimately for the factory to prosper, it needs more sugarcane production and that the govt is hoping that the production increases to 60,000 tonnes in the next 2 years by the Goan sugarcane farmers.
“The farmers assured to increase their production once the government ensures improved water supply to their sugarcane crops,” said Gaude.
He said the farmers are the backbone of the country and that their interest and welfare is his priority.
Pauskar, who is also the Sanvordem MLA, expressed happiness over the progress. He said farmers are supplying around 37 thousand tonnes of sugarcane and have been asked to increase it to one lakh tonnes. He said that they had been given a time period of 5 years to achieve the same.
The CPCB Scare
In November 2018, the farmers were in panic-mode after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had issued a closure notice to the factory for its failure to install a pollution control system as directed. What troubled them greatly was that this jolt came around the same time as the crushing season and they feared the worst, given that it meant that months of their hard work and sugarcane produce would go to waste. After it finally installed the system, the CPCB permitted the crushing season, which began almost a month late.
Farmers however, were annoyed that the govt had not done what was required earlier given that the CPCB had alerted them in 2017 to install the continuous monitoring system for effluent and stack emission under the Environment Protection Act.
Lifeline for thousands
The Sanjivani Sugar factory began in the year 1972 at Dayanandnagar, Dharbandora and except for a few years, it has been suffering a loss of Rs 2.5 crore per year. This has been a constant source of worry to the 1,200 sugarcane farmers. The factory also provides livelihood to thousand farmers from Karnataka. While the Goan farmers supply around 37,000 metric tonnes, their neighbours provide around 50-55,000 metric tonnes.
The farmers have been demanding a thousand rupee hike in the supply rates. Currently, they get around Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per tonne, which they say is not affordable due to the rising costs. They have also been demanding payments on time.
Another complaint the farmers have is regarding the shortage of water supply, which they say is the main cause of the decline in production figures. They are also concerned about the nuisance caused by wildlife, which affects their production levels.
At the factory, the 250-odd employees, which include the contract workers, are governed by the wage board based on which, their salaries are paid to them. They too have been demanding for a salary hike and had even held a protest on the same issue,
However, they received an assurance from Gaude after he took charge of the Cooperation Dept that he would look into their demands.
Association President Speaks
Sugarcane Farmers Association President Rajendra Desai said he welcomed the govt’s recent decisions.
“After this, we are waiting for ‘Achhe Din’. We assured the government to increase our sugarcane production from 50,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes every year. They also assured that the bills will be cleared 15 days after the supply of sugarcane to the factory.
He added that the farmers face difficulty in harvesting sugarcane and that the govt has promised to supply additional workers to the farmers to cut the sugarcane free of cost.
Desai added that the govt assured to clear pending bills worth Rs 1.8 crore before Ganesh Chaturthi.
Another major problem, which was conveyed to the govt, was regarding the water shortage. He said the govt assured to resolve this issue by forming an inter-department committee, which will ensure that water supply to the sugarcane crops is not affected.
When asked about the decline in their production levels, Desai said initially they were producing as high as 90,000 tonnes but over the years it has decreased to just 37,000 tonnes.
“Better management required”
The Gomantak Mazdoor Sangh (GMS) General Secretary Puthi Gaonkar said the previous govts never provided proper attention to the affairs of the factory. He added that purchases in the past were of low quality due to mismanagement. He said the factory needs better management if it wants to move from a loss-making unit to a profit-making one.
He opined that the key to success and path to profitably would be in ensuring that corruption is eradicated and that the management team is run by quality and resourceful persons.
He recalled that over the years, Sanjivai suffered losses even though it should have been making profits. He however praised the administrators during whose tenure, the factory managed to register profits.
Gaonkar stressed on modernising the factory’s infrastructure. “The same machinery has been functioning since its inception. Sanjivani needs a better technical engineer and a Managing Director who has knowledge about agriculture,” he added.
He added that Sanjivani has been suffering due to accumulated losses and rising debt. He recalled how the factory had borrowed around Rs 36 crore and later Rs 5 crore but that year after year, they are burdened with paying back the loan installments and interest rates.
He also countered the govt’s claim that around Rs 10 crore is spent for the crushing season. Disagreeing with them, he said that the govt is spending around 2.5 crore every year.
But, he pointed out, the social responsibility lies with the government.
“Around 1,200 sugarcane farmers and their families, hundreds of employees and others like truck owners, drivers, etc also depend on Sanjivani for their livelihood,” added Gaonkar.
He questioned why the vast amount of land lying idle at the factory’s premises has not been put to better use so as to earn much needed revenue. He recalled that a former administrator had taken the initiative to set up a petrol pump at the premises and that they had supported this decision. He explained that the petrol pump can generate a profit around Rs 60-65 lakh and add to Sanjivani’s depleted treasury. Besides that, he said the land can be used for agriculture-related purposes. Further, given its proximity to the road, the land can be used to construct a shopping complex, a truck terminus and even ethanol production plant, which he felt could provide additional revenue.
