Pending dues: Notice to vacate attached properties issued to Phagwara mill

The administration had already served repeated notices to the owners — Jarnail Singh Wahid, Sukhbir Singh Sandhar and his wife Balbir Kaur — for vacating the attached properties in failure of payments to farmers

Taking note of non-payment to sugarcane growers by Wahid-Sandhar Sugar Mills, the district administration on Monday issued a notice to the mill to vacate the properties attached by the office of the Phagwara SDM in 2021.

Giving information, sub-divisional magistrate Jai Inder Singh said there was an outstanding arrear to the tune of ₹40 crore approximately. (AFP file)

Giving information, sub-divisional magistrate Jai Inder Singh said there was an outstanding arrear to the tune of ₹40 crore approximately.

He said the administration had already served repeated notices to the owners — Jarnail Singh Wahid, Sukhbir Singh Sandhar and his wife Balbir Kaur — for vacating the attached properties in failure of payments to farmers.

The notice stipulated that the auction process of these properties will be initiated shortly.

The SDM said the administration was committed to ensure payment to the farmers. He said the mill would be responsible for the loss caused due to delay in vacating the properties.

Though Sukhbir Sandhar is reportedly out of country and could not be contacted, Wahid said the district authorities have no legal right to attach the properties or orders stakeholders to vacate the attached properties.

“We approached the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2021, when the authorities initiated attachment procedures, and the state government has not submitted its reply in the court till date. The matter is sub judice,” he said.

“Moreover, I have not received any vacation notice so far,” said Wahid, who claims that he pulled out all his investment from the company in 2021.