ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has accepted the plea against fixing the price of sugarcane at Rs182 per maund. The directions in this regard are given to the apex court office to fix the case for hearing in the second week of February.
The petitioners, 20 sugar mill owners of Sindh, had filed an appeal against the Sindh High Court judgment. They stated in their appeal that the Sindh government had issued two notifications last year to fix the rate of sugarcane. According to the first notification, sugarcane price was fixed Rs182 per 40kg but later issued another notification and fixed price Rs151 per 40kg.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar heard the appeal against the Sindh High Court judgment. The petitioners have made Sindh chief secretary, provincial secretaries for Food, Industries, Agriculture and Sindh Abadgar Board as respondents.
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, appearing on behalf of the mill owners, argued that the rate of the sugarcane was very high which the mill owners could not pay. He informed the bench that Abadgar in Sindh burning the sugar crops, which has created crisis in Sindh, as the mills have stopped crushing of sugarcane.
Raza Rabbani representing ‘Abadgar’ contended that in interior Sindh the mills mafia is active and had closed mills for 13 days, when the price was fixed Rs182 per 40kg. He maintained it was not the jurisdiction of the High Court to fix rates of sugarcane.
