Bajwa, three Cong MLAs seek release of Rs 681-cr cane arrears to farmers

In an open letter to Capt Amarinder Singh, Bajwa and his party colleagues said the state government must make all pending payments to protect the cane growers and sugar industry in the state

Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa and three party MLAs on Tuesday sought immediate release of the pending sugarcane arrears totalling Rs 681.48 crore to 70,000 farmers at the earliest.

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In an open letter to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Bajwa and his party colleagues said the state government must make all pending payments to protect the cane growers and sugar industry in the state. “These farmers sold their produce to private and cooperative sugar mills. The unpaid dues for the 2018-19 season are Rs 96.36 crore and the amount left to be paid for the 2019-20 season is Rs 585.12 crore,” the Congress leaders wrote. The letter was signed by Congress MLAs Fatehjung Singh Bajwa (Qadian), Balwinder Singh Laddi (Hargobindpur) and Joginder Pal (Bhoa).

They said as per the Sugarcane Control Order and clause 3(3) of the Sugarcane Purchase and Regulation Act, the sugar mills must make payment within 14 days of purchase of sugarcane otherwise the mills will have to make these payments along with interest for the delayed period. “It is a matter of grave concern that there are outstanding payments for years. These unpaid dues have caused financial distress to thousands of sugarcane farmers, leaving many with huge debts,” reads the letter which also gives the names of nine cooperative and five private sugar mills that have pending payments.

Citing the example of two private mills which have made payments for both seasons, Bajwa said if these two could pay for their goods, why the rest were unable to do so. “It is a major lapse of the government where sugar mills break the rules and regulations of the state and do not face any punishment,” he added.