Ambala: Crushing season nears end, yet Rs103 cr cane dues still pending

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, March 29

The sugarcane crushing season is nearing end, but the payment of nearly Rs 103 crore to Ambala farmers is still running late.

Trying to fix payment issues

We recently sold some stock, which is yet to be lifted and its payment still to be received. Even the sugar prices are low at present. Due to these issues, we weren’t able to release the payment in the past 15 days… We are trying to clear the dues at the earliest. Niraj, ceo, naraingarh sugar mills

Due to the payment issues, even the farmers had diverted their produce to othersugar mills and crushers this year. In the last season, around 50 lakh quintal of sugarcane was crushed by the Naraingarh mill and the same quantity was expected this year as well. However, the mill is unlikely to get more than 45 lakh quintal of sugarcane.

Farm leaders believe that due to factionalism in unions, they had also failed to put pressure on the government for the timely release of payment. As per the norms, the payments should be cleared within 14 days of purchase.

As per the information, the mill has bought sugarcane worth around Rs 159 crore, of which the total payment made from this year’s sale is around Rs 123 crore, including that of the current and previous seasons. However, a payment of Rs 103 crore for the current season is still pending.

Meanwhile, a group of farmers is staging a dharna outside the sugar mill. Vicky Rana, a farm leader, said they were forced to hold protests and make repeated requests to get their own payments. “Besides the current season’s payment, a crop loan is also pending. We will continue to struggle till our payments are not cleared.”

Vinod Rana, president, Ganna Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, said: “This was a crucial season for the mill and the sugarcane farmers of this area. We were expecting that the mill will get over 50 lakh quintal of sugarcane and with good prices in the market, the season will end with lower pending dues. But due to the payment issues, the farmers diverted their sugarcane to mills in Punjab, Yamunanagar and Karnal. The Naraingarh mill is being managed by the government. We have demanded a meeting with the higher authorities.”

However, Naraingarh SDM Niraj, who is also the CEO of the mill, said: “Payments up to January 2 have been cleared and we assure that the amount due up to January 15 will be paid in the next 10 days. The mill has so far received around 44 lakh quintal of sugarcane and it may get another 1 lakh quintal only.”