Farmers Movement Archive

Delay in dues irks Ambala sugarcane farmers

Ambala, February 3Sugarcane farmers in Ambala continue to face a tough time, like in previous seasons, as the Naraingarh sugar mill couldn’t ensure timely payment to the farmers who have supplied sugarcane to the mill since the season started in November last year.Only Rs12.61 cr cleared, Rs73 cr pendingThe farmers delivered over 23.48 lakh quintals sugarcane worth around Rs85 crore till January 31. The payment of Rs12.61 crore up to Dec 4 has been cleared so far, while the payment of Rs73 crore is due. — Rajiv Sharma, General secy & Spokesman, BKU(Charuni)The farmers rue that they are forced to hold protests and make repeated requests to get their payments. Even the Rs 27.59-crore cash payment of the previous season that ended in April was cleared in December last year.Vinod Rana, president, Ganna Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, said, “The mill started operations for the current season on November 23 and so far, payments up to December 4 have been cleared. Due to excess rainfall, the farmers have suffered wheat and mustard crop loss, and the payments of sugarcane are also stuck. In such conditions, farmers are finding it hard to manage their expenses. Moreover, the post-dated cheques of the previous season are also pending. A kisan panchayat has been called on February 7 to discuss the issue, and this time the committee will take a strict decision.”Sub-Divisional Magistrate Naraingarh Niraj, who is also holding the charge of the chief executive officer of the mill, said, “So far in this season, the mill has cleared around Rs 27.59 crore payment and around Rs 24 crore PDC (post-dated cheques) of the previous season, while around Rs 12.61 crore of the current season has been released. Due to the recent rainfall, the sugarcane didn’t reach the mill due to which the operations were stopped for around six days, and the production of sugar was affected. Besides, the price of sugar in the market was also ruling on the lower side due to which the mill couldn’t sell sugar. But things are coming back on track. On Monday, the mill released around Rs 90 lakh and all efforts are on to ensure timely payment to farmers.”

The Tribune

2022-02-04