Dues of cane growers to be cleared by March 31

Chandigarh, November 2

All dues totalling around Rs 41 crore of sugarcane farmers of the Doaba region pending against Golden Sandhar Mills Ltd, Phagwara, will be cleared by March 31, said Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, here today.

The minister along with Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture, KAP Sinha was chairing a meeting with sugarcane farmers led by BKU (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai and BKU (Lakhowal) president Harinder Singh here. IGP, Intelligence, Jaskaran Singh also attended the meeting.

Khudian directed Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Karnail Singh to ensure the payment of Rs 9.72 crore to farmers by the mill owner. Besides, the first instalment of around Rs 2 crore should be paid before starting the cane crushing season this year, he said.

He also asked the DC to expedite the process of attaching the properties related to the defaulter owners of Golden Sandhar Mills to make payments of the remaining amount of dues by March 31.

He asked the officials concerned to immediately open the mill, which had been sealed following protests, so that the required repair would be ensured to make it operational before the beginning of this year crushing season.