LUCKNOW: Five sugar mill owners faced arrested after they were booked in Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday for defying directives to restart their mills even as the Allahabad high court directed the Centre and the state government to end the impasse over the issue.

A division bench, comprising chief justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Dilip Gupta, sought a solution to run the mills. The directive came in response to a PIL, which requested the court to intervene to get sugar mills restart crushing and farmers cane arrears of Rs 2,320 crore. The PIL asked the government to take over the mills. The court has fixed December 3 for next hearing.

Earlier, five mill owners were booked after third rounds of talks failed. Sources said they could be arrested if they defied the government's orders to restart their mills. The district administration elsewhere continued its crackdown on millers in Mansurpur, Khatoli and Titawi under the Essential Commodities Act.

The UP Sugar Mill Association wrote to UP chief secretary Jawed Usmani and demanded the FIRs be "immediately quashed" and reiterated their demand for "financial help" from the state to clear the sugarcane arrears.

Over 70 of the 99 private sugar mills in UP have given an undertaking, saying they will not unable to run their mills without monetary assistance.

Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan convener VM Singh rubbished claims of growing losses saying the millers were not taking into account profits from the sale of sugar byproducts.

Sources said the state government has promised millers to waive entry tax for the current year besides reducing cane society commission from 3% to 1.5%, and increasing transport cost. It has rejected the millers demand seeking subsidy infusion and the offer to run mills on a no-profit-no-loss arrangement for one year.

The Sugar Mill Association has promised to pay fair and remunerative prices to farmers as per the Sugarcane Control Act 1966 provisions, provided the Centre agrees to provide interest-free loans to sugar factories in lieu of the excise duty paid in the last five years. They have demanded this should be repayable in five years after a moratorium of two years to ensure cash flow.

Sources said the association and the government are maintaining a strategic silence to extract maximum benefits.

A formal announcement of the concessions is expected later this week after the Centre's Union minister Sharad Pawar-led three-member committee makes its recommendations.