Gurdaspur, September 21
Owners of all seven private sugar mills in the state have passed a resolution, threatening to shut down their business when the cane crushing season starts in November, if the state government does not lessen their burden by announcing a compensation of Rs 55 per quintal to farmers for the 2017-18 season.
Senior officials claimed that the development was sure to make the government jittery due to the possibility of unrest among farmers.
A meeting of the Punjab Sugar Mill Owners’ Association was held in New Delhi early this week, where the decision was taken. Jarnail Singh Wahid, president of the association, Jasdeep Kaur Chadha, Kamal Oswal, Rana Inder Partap Singh, Kunal Yadav and Raju Chadha were present at the meeting.
“We request the government to have a relook at the state advised price (SAP) of Rs 310 per quintal in future. We want to pay farmers at the Union Government’s fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs 275 per quintal from the 2018-19 season. If this is not to the government’s liking, then it should support us by paying the difference between the SAP and FRP,” said Jarnail Singh Wahid, president, Punjab Sugar Mill Owners' Association.
He claimed that the UP Government, over the last a few crushing seasons, had paid compensation worth Rs 5,000 crore to ease the pressure on mill owners. He added that the association had already told farmers not to grow sugarcane this season because the mills would not be taking their produce.
“Growing sugarcane is no longer economically feasible. Payments are often delayed and now mills are not ready to take our produce. If the mills will not take our cane, we will have to revert to the paddy-wheat cycle,” said Satbir Singh, vice-president of the Punjab unit of the Kirti Kissan Union.
Meanwhile, a senior official at cane commissioner’s office said: “The issue of compensation will be decided during the Sugar Board meeting, which is likely to be held soon. It comprises representatives of the government, farmers and private mills. Everything can be discussed there.