Panipat sugar mill under lens over low sugar recovery, poor state of godown

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, June 2

The Panipat Cooperative Sugar Mill at Dahar is under scanner for low recovery of sugar this season and for poor condition of the godown where the sugar bags have been kept.

Notably, the state government had established the new plant at a cost of Rs 360 crore over 70 acres with a capacity of crushing 50,000 quintals of sugarcane each day. The plant, having equipment of latest technology, was fully functional in 2022.

Sources said the government had allotted the tender for the current crushing season to a company at a cost of Rs 6.5 crore. The mill had fixed the target to recover 10 per cent sugar by crushing sugarcane but it has recovered only 9.2 per cent this season. It has crushed a total of 63.43 lakh quintals of sugarcane this season, said the sources.

Besides, the maintenance of the sugar stock is also questionable. The godown is in a very bad shape, bags are torn and sugar is strewn across the floor. “Sugar is melting in the bags but there is no one to keep a check,” said a source.

The sources said that the contractor had made excess molasses this year in comparison to sugar, which had incurred a big loss on the sugar mill. The sources said that the company did not complete works which were listed under the tender. The company has also failed to ensure the requisite manpower this season. The sugar mill’s machinery is also jammed as brown sugar is stuck in the chambers of machines, sources added.

The sugar mill was constructed by a private company but it left various civil works midway. The upper platform of the bagasse carrier broke during a storm recently, said the sources. Though the works were not completed, the payments were made, said an official said on the condition of anonymity. Besides, the company which had recently got the contract has also incurred a big loss for the sugarmill this year, he said.

Dr Pankaj Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner and officiating MD of the sugar mill, said he was given additional charge of the mill recently. He said the contractor had taken the tender at such a low rate that it failed to get proper manpower and could not comply with the norms. The company has made a loss in sugar recovery besides, and has caused damage to machinery at the mill, he said.

“We have stopped the payment to the company. It would not be released till the company complies with the norms. We are going to penalise this contractor and would also recommend blacklisting of the company,” ADC Dr Pankaj said.