The politics surrounding the inability of sugarcane mills to clear dues over Rs 2850 crores, due to absence of support from the state government, is likely to overshadow the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has threatened agitation and blocking of roads if the dues were not cleared at the earliest. Another pro-farmer political party, Rashtriya Lok Dal said that if the government fails to clear their dues, the Samajwadi Party will have to bear the brunt.
The total arrears stand at Rs 2851 crore, of which Rs 2680 crore is of the private sector and the remaining of the state-run mills. The total due was Rs 22643 crore, of which Rs 19612 crore has been paid – which stands at 87 per cent.
‘The private mills are in no position to clear the dues. The state operative cane price is so high that mills find it difficult to pay the money’, spokesman of the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) said. He also said that the private mills have cleared Rs 17857 crore, which is 83 per cent of the total arrears. It is the limit. We will clear the rest of the due as and when the mills have money.
Recently a delegation of the UP Sugar Mills Association met state chief secretary Jawed Usmani and demanded an interest free loan of Rs 2000 crore to clear the dues of the cane farmers. The delegation apprised the chief secretary of the problem sugar industry was facing due to high State Advisory Price (SAP) announced by the UP government.
The private mill owners claim that they are suffering a loss of Rs 4 per kilogram of sugar produced in the state as the cane price has been hiked by 70 per cent in the past 3 years, while the price of sugar just rose by just 11 per cent.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has threatened agitation and blocking of roads if the dues were not cleared at the earliest. Another pro-farmer political party, Rashtriya Lok Dal said that if the government fails to clear their dues, the Samajwadi Party will have to bear the brunt.
The total arrears stand at Rs 2851 crore, of which Rs 2680 crore is of the private sector and the remaining of the state-run mills. The total due was Rs 22643 crore, of which Rs 19612 crore has been paid – which stands at 87 per cent.
‘The private mills are in no position to clear the dues. The state operative cane price is so high that mills find it difficult to pay the money’, spokesman of the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) said. He also said that the private mills have cleared Rs 17857 crore, which is 83 per cent of the total arrears. It is the limit. We will clear the rest of the due as and when the mills have money.
Recently a delegation of the UP Sugar Mills Association met state chief secretary Jawed Usmani and demanded an interest free loan of Rs 2000 crore to clear the dues of the cane farmers. The delegation apprised the chief secretary of the problem sugar industry was facing due to high State Advisory Price (SAP) announced by the UP government.
The private mill owners claim that they are suffering a loss of Rs 4 per kilogram of sugar produced in the state as the cane price has been hiked by 70 per cent in the past 3 years, while the price of sugar just rose by just 11 per cent.