With private sugar millers threatening to stop crushing demanding decrease in Minimum Support Price (MSP) and farmers sending a war cry demanding increase in cane price, the Uttar Pradesh Government has found itself caught in a cleft stick of indecisiveness.
The cane dues stand at Rs5,400 crore and Government has been asked to ensure early payment of the dues. State Chief Secretary Alok Rajan said the Government was committed to ‘force’ the mills to pay the pending dues and it will take strict steps against the erring mills.“The mills have to pay the dues of the farmers at any cost and the State Government will not succumb to any pressure,’’ he told The Pioneer here on Sunday.
The State Government has seized three million tonnes of sugar from private millers who have not cleared sugarcane payment arrears to farmers. This stock is supposed to be auctioned to raise the money.
It auctioned 530,000 tonnes of the seized stock in July and the money has been released for farmers’ payment. State Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA). too warned the UP governmnent that they would not start the crushing from November till their demands were met. ‘’We are suffering a loss of Rs 5.50 per kilogram of sugar produced in the state. So it would be better if we close our units or shift it to some other places,’’ UP Sugar Mill Assocation (UPSMA) officials said. The 95 private sugar mills have collectively paid Rs 11,765 crore against the total dues of Rs 17,366 crore for cane purchased during the 2013-14 crushing season, implying settlement of 68 per cent of the arrears. Since the Allahabad High Court is hearing a case pertaining to the arrears, the government has so far registered over 60 First Information Reports with the police and issued Recovery Certificates (RCs) against 52 mills. The 23 cooperative mills had settled 88 per cent of their dues, paying Rs 1,696 crore against dues of Rs 1,929 crore. The lone State Sugar Corporation had settled all its dues of Rs 92 crore.