Around 26 sugar mills in Maharashtra have paid R150 crore in Fair and Remunerative Price ( FRP) to farmers over the past week following the pressure maintained by the State Sugar Commissionerate. Mills, which had shortfall of more than R500, were asked to explain why they have not been able to make payments to farmers and have been given time till February 14 to make the payments till January 15, Vipin Sharma, Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner told FE.

The Commisionerate will take a review of the proceedings by the end of this week and begin the second phase of hearings for mills with a shortfall of more than R400 from next week. According to the Commissioner, the objective is to reduce the gap in FRP payments from 26% to 15% for the period until January 15. “Mills in Maharashtra have paid up 74% of the total FRP, which comes up to R10,000 crore in the last fortnight,” Sharma said. The Commissionerate has already issued revenue recovery orders against three mills in the state, an action that has brought pressure on the remaining mills to gather funds to release payments.

“We wish to maintain this momentum so that more mills come up and make payments. The focus will be on these 26 mills, which are some of the biggest in the state and also have the biggest gap in FRP payments to the tune of R720 per tonne,” he said.

The State Sugar Commissonerate had issued legal notices to over 119 sugar mills in the state for their failure to make FRP payments within 14 days of the start of the crushing season. After several sugar mills in the state expressed their inability to make FRP payments, the Sugar Commissioner offered a staggered deadline for mills to make payments in three parts.