For the third consecutive year, the State Advisory Price (SAP) of sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh will remain unchanged with the Cabinet clearing it for the current crushing season. The SAP was last hiked in the 2017-18 crushing season, soon after the BJP government came to power in the state.

After the last hike, the SAP for three different varieties of sugarcane in the state was set at Rs 315 per quintal for common variety, Rs 325 for the early variety; and Rs 310 for the rejected varieties.

Government officials said most mills had already started making payments based on last year’s SAP. So, changing SAP would not have made much difference.

Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, Information Department, said, “Payment to farmers is not dependent on SAP and mills are already making payment as per previous year’s rate. Thus, it has been decided that SAP will remain the same for this year.”

He added that SAP in Uttar Pradesh is already much higher than in other states.

The Opposition slammed the government and said it would fight for farmers’ rights from the Assembly to the roads.

“This is yet another proof of the government’s anti-farmer mindset. They have proven they only care for sugar mills and not for the farmers. All their promises are a myth,” said SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary.

Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu said, “First of all, the government has not been able to ensure that payments for previous season are cleared. On top of that, it did not increase SAP. We will not leave the issue just like that and will raise it in the Assembly and also hold protests on roads.”