Govt ‘mismanaging’ Bhogpur sugar mill: Capt Amarinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 28

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today lashed out at the state government for mismanaging the Bhogpur sugar mill, besides providing undue advantage to certain people at the cost of the interest of the farmers.

A delegation of the farmers from the Doaba Kisan Sangharsh Committee met Capt Amarinder and told him that there was a turbine blast in the mill on July 17 last year, which led to the mill halting the production of electricity.

During the last year, before the turbine blast, electricity worth Rs 14 crore was produced and sold by the plant in the first four months only. “But since the plant has not been operationalised again, the mill had to buy electricity worth Rs 12 crore causing huge losses to the society and resulting in the delay of payment to the cane farmers,” the farmers told the former Chief Minister.

Capt Amarinder stated that the Bhogpur Sugar Mill was renovated and modernised at a cost of Rs 109 crore in November 2020 when he was in power. He said the capacity was enhanced to 3,000 TCD from 1,016 TCD besides a new 15-MW power plant was set up here.

The farmers alleged that the management favours big farmers and provides them an unfair advantage. They said it makes them take their produce to the mill first, which forces small farmers to go to private players who do not provide payment on time.

They also brought to his notice the issue of contract signed with a private firm to sell power at the meagre amount of Rs 80 lakh during the off-season even though the mill had sold electricity worth Rs 14 crore during the crushing season.

The farmers alleged that the mill has also given some of its land to a private player to run a petrol pump at the amount of Rs 13,000 per month whereas the farmers feel that this rent is too low and is aimed at benefiting a single person.

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