Punjab Government on Thursday cleared all the pending dues of the sugarcane farmers by depositing the last instalment of Rs 75 crore in their respective accounts. “The State Government has released Rs 75 crores as payment to the sugarcane farmers on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, through Sugarfed...The same has been deposited in the respective accounts of the concerned sugarcane farmers today (Thursday),” said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He said that with this, there are no outstanding dues of sugarcane growers left against the nine Cooperative Sugar Mills at Ajnala, Batala, Budhewal, Bhogpur, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Morinda, Nakodar and Nawanshahr.
“This pending payment relates to the crushing season 2021-22 and for the first time, all the dues of the farmers have been cleared. With this payment of Rs 75 crore, the Cooperative Sugar Mills in the state have cleared all the pending arrears of cane farmers,” said Mann, adding that till now, Rs 619.62 crores have been paid to the sugarcane farmers and nothing is left as on date.
Reiterating the state government’s firm commitment to safeguard the farmers’ interests, the Chief Minister said that the State Government is leaving no stone unturned for it. He said that strenuous efforts are being made to make agriculture a profitable venture by supplementing the income of farmers through crop diversification.
Mann said that his Government is making sincere efforts to ensure that in the forthcoming sugarcane season of 2022-23, no such inordinate delay takes place and farmers get the payment of their produce on time.