Govt mills paid over Rs 1 lakh crore to sugarcane growers in last three years, a record: UP CM

Government mills in Uttar Pradesh have paid Rs 1,00,325 crore for sugarcane bought from 47 lakh farmers of the state in the past three years, which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said is a record.

Government mills in Uttar Pradesh have paid Rs 1,00,325 crore for sugarcane bought from 47 lakh farmers of the state in the past three years, which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said is a record. Speaking at a programme organised at his official residence to pay Rs 418 crore to sugarcane farmers through direct benefit transfer (DBT), the Chief Minister said the state government's efforts in the interest of sugarcane growers yielded a record payment to them of more than Rs 1 lakh crore from 2017 to 2020, an official release said here on Friday.

“The government is constantly working to double the income of farmers. The last three years have been a golden period in the history of Uttar Pradesh's sugar industry when such a huge amount is being paid directly to the farmers account through DBT. No previous government has paid this much amount even during its 5-year tenure,” the CM said. Interacting with some farmers through video conferencing at the event, he said that apart from record payments being given out, there was also record production of sugarcane and sugar.

In the current crushing season in 2019-2020, the sugar mills of the state have crushed 1,116 lakh tonnes of sugarcane and produced 126.5 lakh tonnes of sugar. “While the previous governments had shut down sugar mills, our government got them started again. There used to be three sugar mills in Gorakhpur and all were closed during the tenure of previous governments. But after we came to power, the sugarcane department established a new sugar mill at Pipraich (in the district),” he said.

"The lockdown on account of coronavirus was a challenge for farming. Sugarcane and wheat crops were standing in the fields. We also had to consider the interest of farmers while preventing infection. We decided that we would procure wheat and sugarcane, while complying with all the lockdown rules," Adityanath said. Even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic when most industries were closed, the sugar mills in the state continued with their crushing operations, he pointed out.

It was the commitment of the state government for safeguarding the interests of farmers that the supply of the sugarcane has remained uninterrupted, he further said. Though sugar sales remained negligible during the lockdown period, Rs 5,953 crore was paid to farmers in this period.

“During the initial phase of the coronavirus crisis, there was a sudden shortage of sanitisers in the first week of March. A 100-gram (sanitiser) bottle started selling for Rs 400-500. In view of this issue, sugarcane farmers decided to make sanitisers. After this, sanitisers were produced in large quantity and we provided free sanitisers to every department in the state. Along with this, all the states of the country were also supplied sanitisers at affordable rates, the Chief Minister said. The payments made in the last three years of the present government is Rs 46,633 crore more than the combined procured price of sugarcane of Rs 53,367 crore from 2014 to 2017, the Chief Minister said while referring to the period when the Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav was in power.

Adityanath took over the reins of the state in March 2017. He also pointed out that the payment to farmers during 2017 to 2020 is Rs 4,785 crore more than the cumulative payout of Rs 95,215 crore paid during 2012-2017 period, the release said.

Also, the outstanding payment to sugarcane farmers worth Rs 4,466 crore pending during the 2012-2017 period was also paid from 2017 till 2020 to the growers. The Chief Minister said the state government is committed to protect the economic interest of farmers.

Sugarcane Minister Suresh Rana said the government's top priority is to ensure farmers get sugarcane price payments and are determined to promote their economic interests combined with their all-round development..