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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
SIDDHARTHA VARMA, AJIT SINGH, JJ.
Dhampur Sugar Mills Limited and another – Appellants
Versus
State ofUttar Pradesh and others - Respondents
Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 9616 of 2022
Decided on : 06-01-2023
U.P. Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953 – Section 2(i), 2(n), 15, 2(a) – Establishment – Sugar factory – Setting up of new sugar factory – Whether at a particular point of time or in a particular situation any such policy should have been adopted or not – Held, Court are also of view that definitely coming up of a fresh factory would not in any manner hurt business interests of existing sugar factories including business interests of petitioners - Therefore, when petitioners argued that economic reasons had to be looked into while giving consent by Government for establishment of a fresh factory, argument was fallacious – Economic reasons while establishing a fresh sugar factory were looked into – Every preexisting factory and new factory would get its own reserved/assigned area and every factory would get its raw material in form of sugarcane for crushing – Policy decision taken by Government for setting-up of a fresh sugar factory, therefore, does not, in any manner, calls for any interference by this Court – As and when fresh sugar factory comes in, definitely percentage of sale of sugarcane to existing sugar factories along with new factory would increase and thus more sugarcane would go to sugar factories – In this manner local farmers would also be encouraged to produce more sugarcane and sell their produce to sugar factories – This would bring in more prosperity in area for sugarcane growers – Petition Dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
By the Court.
This writ petition has been filed for the issuance of a writ of certiorari quashing the 'No Objection Certificate' (hereinafter referred to as NOC) dated 14.9.2021 which has been issued by the Cane Commissioner to the respondent No. 4 and also for the quashing of the ''Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum'' (hereinafter referred to as IEM) which has been filed by the respondent No. 4 on 12.10.2021 and has been acknowledged by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade on the same date.
2. It appears that for the installation of a sugar factory when the respondent No. 4-M/s. Bindal Paper Limited on 7.9.2021 had asked for an NOC, then after considering the case of respondent No. 4, the Cane Commissioner, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow had on 14.9.2021 issued the NOC and had detailed in the NOC that from the proposed sugar factory, as per the Indian Survey Department, Dehradun, the nearest sugar mills were as follows :
ii. Deewan Sugar Mills Ltd., District Moradabad (31.3 kms.)
iii. Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd., Unit Dhampur, District Bijnor (21.1 kms.)
iv. P.B.S. Foods Pvt. Ltd., Chandanpur, District Bijnor (17.5 kms.)
v. Upper Ganges Sugar and Industries Ltd., Seohara, District Bijnor (16.9 kms.).
3. Thereafter, the Commissioner had stated that NOC was being issued to M/s. Bindal Papers Ltd. for the issuing of the IEM to M/s. Bindal Papers Ltd.
4. The petitioner No. 1 which is Dhampur Sugar Mills Limited, as per the survey report of the Indian Survey Department, Dehradun was 21.1 kilometers away from the proposed sugar mill and the petitioner No. 2-Avadh Sugar and Energy Limited which has been mentioned as Upper Ganges Sugar and Industries Ltd., Seohara, District Bijnor in the NOC was 16.9 kilometers away from the proposed sugar mill of the respondent No. 4. The establishment of sugar factories is regulated by both the Central and the State Government. The Government of India by its notification published in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) 1966 had issued the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as 1966 Order) and as per Order 6-A, there was a restriction of setting up of two sugar factories within the radius of fifteen kilometers.
5. For convenience, Order 6-A of the 1966 Order is being reproduced here as under :
Provided that the State Government may with the prior approval of the Central Government, where it considers necessary and expedient in public interest, notify such minimum distance higher than 15 kms or different minimum distances not less than 15 kms for different regions in their respective States.
Explanation 1.-An existing sugar factory shall mean a sugar factory in operation and shall also include a sugar factory that has taken all effective steps as specified in Explanation 4 to set up a sugar factory but excludes a sugar factory that has not carried out its crushing operations for last five sugar seasons.
Explanation 2.-A new sugar factory shall mean a sugar factory, which is not an existing sugar factory, but has filed the Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum as prescribed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the Central Government and has submitted a performance guarantee of rupees one crore to the Chief Director (Sugar), Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution for implementation of the Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum within the stipulated time or extended time as spe
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