Even as Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani has asked the private sugar mill owners to start crushing from November 25 the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association has so far refused to bite the bullet saying they were not in position to start operation now.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday the UPSMA said that private millers will meet after Moharram to decide on the directives of the state government to start the mills on a phase manner from November 25.
Tthe members of UPSMA held a meeting with Jawed Usmani that failed to yield any results.''Chief Secretary said that the interest of the sugar mills would be protected but did not mention about the subsidy or other demands of the private sugar mills,'' said a senior UPSMA official.
The official said that they will meet after Moharram and in the meantime wait for the directives from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on cane price. ''The state government wants the mills to start crushing but are not interested in losses of the mills,'' the official said.
Even if the private mills decide to start crushing after Moharram then also they will need at least 20 days time to commence the factory and in no way the crushing could start from November.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary said that over 45 lakh farmers are dependent on sugarcane and government cannot neglect the interest of the farmers. He said the state-run mills will start operation between November 15 and 22 and private mills should do the same from November 25.
"A decision on cane price will be taken soon," he declared. UP principal secretary (Cane Development) Rahul Bhatnagar informed that sugar mills in Aoopshehar
(Bulandshehar) would start operating on November 20, Baghpat on November 15, Muraina (Muzaffarnagar) on November 18, Nanauta (Saharanpur) on November 17, Ramala Baghpat on November 15, Sarsava (Sharanpur on
November 22, Gajraula (Amroha) on November 20, Sneh Road (Bijnore) on November 20. Similarly, some other mills would start their operation till November 30.