KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued an interim order to the government to ensure that sugarcane farmers got paid for their produce within a month.

The order was issued by a single bench of Justice Kumar Regmi in response to a petition filed by Punya Prasad Khatiwada against the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The court observed that compelling sugarcane farmers to go to Kathmandu every year to seek payment for their produce was not only an injustice against farmers, but also against the principle of welfare state.

The court observed that delaying payments to sugarcane farmers violated their fundamental right to dignified life as they were deprived of earnings that they needed to meet health, education, and other needs of their families.