Punjab CM asks Sugarfed to pay arrears to cane growers

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered Sugarfed to pay the balance amount of Rs 149 crore to liquidate full arrears of Rs 299 crore payable to the cane growers by the Cooperative Sugar Mills.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered Sugarfed to pay the balance amount of Rs 149 crore to liquidate full arrears of Rs 299 crore payable to the cane growers by the Cooperative Sugar Mills. Sugarfed is the apex body of Cooperative Sugar Mills.

On the directives of the chief minister, the finance department sanctioned Rs 150 crore to make the outstanding payment of the farmers of Cooperative Sugar Mills, while the balance amount of Rs 149 crore would be paid by Sugarfed from its own resources, said an official release. The CM also asked Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to work out a financially viable mechanism so as to avert such a situation in future and ensure timely and regular payment to the cane growers.

The chief minister also directed private sugar mills to immediately clear the pending payment of farmers. Of the total Rs 1,253 crore on account of cane arrears of four private sugar mills in the state, Rs 876 crore has already been paid and Rs 377 crore is pending, while out of Rs 486 crore of Cooperative Sugar Mills, payment of Rs 229 crore has been made by the Sugarfed and Rs 257 crore and Rs 42 crore is pending for the year 2019-20 and 2018-19 respectively.